The Battle for Galaxy Hills
by Party-In-France's-Pants
Summary: Fanboy and his pal, Chum Chum, have to face the most powerful being they've ever been up against in order to get their town and lives back.
1. Just The Start

So this is a remade chapter, and the first paragraph is being said by a god-like voice. I honestly like how this is coming together. I know I said I'd have both chapters, but I didn't want to have to wait to finish another chapter when I've already finished this one.

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Chapter 1: Just The Start

Legend claims that two boys who couldn't bear to be apart lived on Earth where this incredible story takes place. The two boys were of opposite appearances; one being tall, thin, and flat-headed, while the younger was short, small, and round. In fact, it has been said that his flat head was created by nature so then his friend could ride on top. Yes, it was believed by many that they were born for each other, even if they weren't of the same age. Not everyone approved of their relationship, and even existence, though. Their special charms that could coax almost anyone into liking or enjoying their company didn't work on everyone. Whoever disliked the two, would often be cursed with horrible luck and continuously attempted to destroy them. Of course, no one had actually achieved this goal, but that didn't put a wrinkle in the plans of a feared evil.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO o

"You should really be more careful next time." A beast shrouded by poisonous fog laughed.

A cloaked, weakened man on his hands and knees coughed violently. "...You're as lowly and... pathetic as ever..."

"Oh? Is that what you really think of me?" It gave a careless, cold smile. "I've always liked the way you handle torture and never gave up even when you're about to meet your doom. It's very... _admirable_."

"...Shut up! ...I don't need... any compliments from... you...!"

"Who said it was one? Any human who looks up to you is on the road of being no better, but just as foolish as you. How about you just quit now?"

The man looked up at him from under his hood. "...Never! ...I can't give up..."

The beast rolled his eyes. "There goes that emotional side of you again... You really will never grasp the entirety of your situation will you?"

The pained man gave no response.

"For all you know, that snot nosed brat could be _dead_!" The beast ferociously yelled, flames being set off all around him at the stamping of his hoofed foot. "Face it! You need to handle the truth! Move on with your life before it all ends here!"

"... That... That isn't true!"

"Hmph! Fine. Believe what you will. Live on believing in a lie!"

With those final words, the beast, gas, and fire disappeared, leaving the man alone. He collapsed, face first into the dusty ground.

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO o

The sun had just started rising over the town of Galaxy Hills. It was almost time for everyone to begin their day by getting ready for work or school. The town's most beloved convenience store prepared to open it's doors for the small handful of early morning customers.

Lenny dug into his pocket in search of his keys. Boog lazily climbed out of his precious car; it was the earliest he had ever shown up to work. As Lenny unlocked the automatic doors, they pushed open and Boog fell to the ground in between them, snoring loudly. Lenny rolled his eyes.

"Why did I even hire you?" He groaned.

Ozwald checked his collection of comic books. He kissed the plastic cover of each one and held them close to his chest as if they were his children. A young red-headed boy watched him from outside with a shocked and appalled expression. Oz immediately stopped in mid-kiss of an irreplaceable Manarctica comic and looked up at the small boy. The child ran away from the store, yelling as he fled.

On top of the apartment building located next to Oz's comic shop and across the street from the Frosty Mart, the two boys who resided inside the water tower were just waking up.

Chum Chum and Fanboy's alarm clocks began to buzz simultaneously. The boys were curled in a ball under their blankets, ignoring the alarms.

"Wake up! Wake up!" Chum Chum's clock droned.

"Yeah." Fanboy's agreed. "You don't want to be late again."

Chum Chum sprang from under his orange blanket. "Late!?"

The ten-year-old climbed out of his bed and walked over to his best friend's bed. He began shaking the older boy and repeating his name.

"Fanboy! Fanboy! Wake up!"

"Huh...? Who's there? Is that you, Cookiebeat? You're a lot smaller..." Fanboy muttered in his sleepy stupor.

Chum Chum shook him harder. "No! It's me! Chum Chum!"

"...No. I don't want any chum. Hey... You smell like a field of radioactive flowers..." Fanboy smiled drowsily.

"If you don't wake up now, we'll be late!" Chum Chum warned him.

At that, Fanboy leaped out of bed and dashed to the bathroom.

"Hey, we told you." Fanboy's alarm clock stated.

"Shut up!" Fanboy yelled.

The super hero and sidekick prepared for school with their usual routine. They stepped up to their separate mirrors and grabbed their toothbrushes. They each grabbed a different flavored tube of toothpaste; Fanboy had grape and Chum Chum had citrus.

"It's disgusting but leaves my mouth citrusy fresh!" Chum Chum chirped as he brushed his uneven teeth.

Fanboy examined his masked face and shrugged while his buddy ran a brush through his dark brown hair, playing with the curl that swooped to the left. With a last minute look in the mirror, they were ready to leave. Minutes later, the front door burst open. Fanboy and Chum Chum stood in the doorway, purple and yellow capes blowing in the wind.

"Its time to try out those flying lessons!" Fanboy jumped up and down excitedly.

"You think we'll make it?" Chum Chum asked, looking over the railing round their home.

"Why wouldn't we? We have capes that stretch four times their own width!"

Inside the Frosty Mart, Lenny wiped off the counters and Boog said his good morning salutations to his machine girlfriend.

"Good morning, baby!" Boog smooched the screen. "Did you miss me? I missed you."

The arcade game beeped in response. Boog traced circles around the joystick and wrapped an arm around the machine.

"Will you stop having lovey dovey time with Chimp Chomp! Not only is it disgusting, but it-" Lenny shouted before being cut off by loud noises from outside. "What's going on?"

In the street, cars crashed into each other, streetlights, and fire hydrants. The sounds of people screaming in horror rang through the convenience store and everything suddenly stopped. A light fog rolled in after the doors pushed open, revealing two figures standing in it.

"Fanboy!"

"And Chum Chum!"

"Reporting for our early morning shift!" They finished their entrance with a bow, pulling their partially ripped capes to the side.

Lenny pushed his glasses up his nose and sighed. Boog guarded Chimp Chomp.

"Good morning, fellow Frosty Mart employees who we admire and thank everyday!" They said in unison, batting their eyelashes innocently.

"Just hurry up and get what you came for!" Lenny demanded.

"Woahohoho!" Fanboy stepped up to the counter. "Slow down there, Lenser!"

"Lenser...?" Lenny repeated under his breath.

"We came here to enjoy the Frosty Mart as it is bathed in the morning glow of the bright sun as if it vomited orange juice on it." Fanboy informed, eyes catching sight if the Frosty Freezey Freeze machine that was highlighted in a faint orange.

"Ahhh~ He has such a way with words." Chum Chum said impressed.

Fanboy and Chum Chum didn't grab a cup, but instead, crawled under the dispensers for the pink and blue slushy liquids. They took turns dispensing both flavors into their mouths and paid Lenny.

"Ya' know what the perfect day starts with?" Fanboy asked the manager.

Boog cracked his knuckles. "A good bopping?"

Chum Chum pinched his cheek. "No, silly!"

"A beautiful Frosty Freezey Freeze~!"

"Bye, Lenny! See you after school!"

The confused manager watched the boys walk out, automatic doors closing behind them.

Yo stood in front of school, talking to her best friend, Lupe, when she noticed Fanboy and Chum Chum approaching. She pulled out a small mirror that had bunny ears on it and checked her hair and face.

"Lupe, how do I look?" Yo asked her urgently.

"Uhhh... You look perfectly fine, chica!" Lupe replied, knowing why she asked.

Yo pulled on her sweetest smile and batted her eyelashes as she watched Chum Chum com closer. In her own mind, he was perfect despite their obvious height difference which Yo loved even more about him.

"Hey, Yo!" Chum Chum waved at her.

The raven-haired girl felt her heart flutter and a blush rise to her cheeks. "_Hi, Chum Chum~"_

"Hola, Lupe~!" Fanboy waved at her but did not receive as nice of a response.

"Hello... Fanboy." She sighed.

Yo suddenly snapped out of her fantasy world where only she and the sidekick existed. She had forgotten Fanboy was there. "Oh. Hey... _Fanboy_."

Fanboy gave her the same tone and pulled Chum Chum behind him. "Hey... _Yo_."

They glared at each other for a few seconds until Fanboy disappeared into the elementary school. He looked back a few times to make sure Yo wasn't trying to follow them. When he felt it was safe, he walked through the hall at a normal pace and greeted everyone he walked past.

"Hey, Micheal and Nancy!"

Micheal said hello in his own way by doing a little dance which made Nancy giggle and look at him with half lidded eyes and a small smile.

"Wassup, Duke and Chris? Hey, Cher!"

"Wah!"

"Yo, weirdo!"

Cher waved her pom poms at Fanboy.

"Hello, Francine~"

Francine rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Don't talk to me!"

Chum Chum counted on his fingers. "We've said hello to almost everyone!"

"Yupp. Except-"Fanboy ran into an open locker.

The locker door closed to reveal Kyle on the other side. He glanced down at Fanboy who was on the floor covering his nose. The British preteen gave no sign of caring about whether or not he was okay and only offered one statement as an excuse.

"Its enough I have to deal with you in class! I _ refuse _to deal with your idiocy any other time of day!" Kyle put his bag over his shoulder and turned away. "Hello, Chum Chum."

"See you in class, Kyle!" Chum Chum replied.

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO o

Mr. Mufflin stood in front of the board giving one of his infamously boring lectures on a topic half the class didn't care about. Kyle sat in the back of the class, sitting on the edge of his seat with a wide, toothy smile. Fanboy on the other hand, with toilet paper shoved up his bloody nose, was dozing off. He tried doing everything in his power to stop himself from falling out of his desk, but they failed when he leaned a little too far to the left and found himself on the floor again. Luckily, no one noticed.

"I need to stay awake..." He muttered under his breath.

"I'll say!" Kyle plucked him. "You're missing out on a lecture about the best country. England!"

Chum Chum flipped through his textbook, looking at pictures. "Wow! Everyone from jolly ol' England looks stiff, rich, and _old_!"

Kyle glared at him and yanked the textbook.

"Hmph. I think you mean _boring _ol' England!" Fanboy said, eyes closing mid-sentence.

"How dare you say such a thing about a more civilized and cultured nation that has some of the best schools!"

Chum Chum looked up at him with a questioning expression. "What about Harvard and Yale?"

"Their just rubbish!" Kyle turned his nose to the air like a snobby, wealthy person.

"And so class-" Mr. Mufflin drew a line across the board causing a horrible screech to echo through the classroom. "That was how the English people defeated the French! Now-"

The bell rung, signaling the end of school. Fanboy was the first to celebrate the daily bell.

"Yes! Sweet victory!"

He and Chum Chum charged out of the school and made their way back to the Frosty Mart.

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The brunette got up to turn off the TV when he noticed his friend had fallen asleep on the couch. Chum Chum grabbed one of their many stitched up, patch-work blankets and spread it over Fanboy who breathed peacefully.

"Good night, Fanboy!" Chum Chum said as he left the living room to go sleep in his own logo adorned bed.

From outside, high in the clouds, was a shadowy figure observing the water tower. It smiled evily and bellowed a terrifying laugh.

"Yes! Goodnight, _Fanboy_!"

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So, this chapter is pretty long. Well, actually it's longer than I expected and I kind of want to take out some parts. The only problem is, I don't what I actually _do _ want to get rid of.


	2. The Beginning Of A Long Road Of Pain

Oh, god... I tried writing this chapter through the many distractions that were thrown at me. Every time I tried writing more something would keep me from writing it. (Excuses, excuses, excuses...) I'm glad I actually finished it though!

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Chapter 2: The Beginning Of A Long Road Of Pain

Fanboy rose up and yawned. He threw the blanket off of him and stood up to stretch out his muscles.

"I wonder what time it is..." Fanboy said aloud as he walked past the darkened windows of the Fanlair. "Hey, Chum Chum!"

The caped crusader walked into the kitchen where he expected to see his best friend making breakfast, but instead he saw one and the small room had been left untouched since last night. He thought nothing of it.

"He's still sleeping!"

He made his way up the stairs and tip-toed up to Chum Chum's bed.

"I gotcha now!" Fanboy prepared to pounce on the bed. "Huh?"

He fell face first on the floor and quickly got to his feet so he could examine the furniture. The bed was made perfectly. Fanboy couldn't even tell if anyone had slept in it last night. He let this slide ride over his flat head and tried to continue with rational thinking.

"Bathroom?" Fanboy opened the door, but his little buddy was nowhere in sight.

Fanboy nervously walked back into the living room, biting his bottom lip. Something like this had never happened before. He didn't want to think the worst, but yet, he couldn't keep it out of his mind.

The masked child made a failed attempt at laughing the situation off. "Okay, Chum Chum. You can stop hiding now."

His only response was silence. No chuckle or a laugh that would be followed by Chum Chum revealing himself to Fanboy. His stomach sank. There must be some reasonable explanation for this. Anything would do.

Fanboy began a desperate search for him all over their home. He looked in every drawer, on top of the refrigerator, under their beds. He searched for him everywhere and anywhere. Unfortunately, each result turned up the same as the last- no Chum Chum.

"Chum Chum! Chum Chum!" Fanboy called out to him fractically. "He wouldn't leave without me, or he would have at least left a note for me..."

Before Fanboy had any time to ponder any further on that possibility, the electricity shut off. He stood on the blue carpet in the living room in total darkness.

"That's weird... I could have sworn I paid the bill... or did that kraken eat the bill again?"

Fanboy jumped at the sound of splitting wood. He held on to his cape as a strong gust blew in through the open door. He raised up but was stopped by the door flying off it's hinges. He screamed and ducked to dodge the large door that flew across the room and hit the wall, not before taking a few things down with it. He became even more terrified when he heard the sound of shattering glass. Fanboy curled himself into a ball and continued to hold on to his cape, using it as a makeshift shield that would somehow save his life.

"What in the world is going on!?" Fanboy exclaimed over the rushing of the wind filling the water tower. "AHHHHH!"

The couch was lifted out of it's place and carelessly tossed against the wall, meeting the same fate as the door. Fanboy cringed as more objects around his home were thrashed about. After wrecking his house, the wind stopped abruptly, giving the frightened boy a chance to stand up. He cautiously got up and looked around, even though he couldn't see anything, and ran outside. A gasp of horror escaped his lips at the sight before him.

"How did this- When did this- I don't even-" Fanboy stuttered. "What if Chum Chum escaped without me...?"

The city was covered in lava, and he could only see a few roof tops and signs sticking out of the fiery fluid that was slowly consuming them. He leaned over the railing to see that the Frosty Mart was no longer in it's spot across the street. Oz's shop had been completely covered as well. Down the road, Galaxy Hills Elementary was gone, too. That brought a small smile to his face which quickly disappeared. He couldn't comprehend what had happened.

"There's no _way _Chum Chum would leave me here after seeing this!" Fanboy turned his head to the sky which held an ominous appearance. "Whoa..."

Dark gray clouds rolled dangerously fast under a pitch black sky that was filled with roaring thunder and lightning. The elastic wearing hero clung to the brightly colored wooden rail as a crack of lightning hit very close to the Fanlair.

"I wake up. Can't find Chum Chum. Lights go off. Front door nearly kills me. Galaxy Hills is drowning in lava. Sky looks scary. Don't know what happened to everyone." Fanboy recounted the morning's events, not sure how to react. "Talk about a rude awakening."

"FANBOY!"

Above Fanboy was a familiar griffin soaring through the sky with two children mounted on it's back. The large beast landed on the roof of the Fanlair, wings beating loudly. It let out an echoing cry and let Kyle and Yo get off. Kyle approached Fanboy, eyebrows knitted and fists clenched at his sides. Yo looked horrified, scared, and confused. Everything Fanboy was feeling. He couldn't figure out why the other boy would be so angry, but then again, he didn't have to. Kyle shoved a finger in his face. At that point, he was fully prepared to tell him everything he thought about him but never said.

"_You_." Kyle started his long rant. "You did _this _didn't you?! You obliterated the entire town! What did you do? Play with a volcano!? Huh? And that odd weather up there! Was that you're doing, too?!"

"No! Nononononono!" Fanboy rightfully defended himself. "I have _no _idea how any of this happened! Honest!"

"I don't believe you! You know what? Since we're about to die, I should just spill everything. Yes, I think I shall. You're an idiot who's a danger to yourself and everyone around you! You're personality is so destructive its dreadful!"

Yo stood in the empty doorway, debating with herself whether or not she jump in and try to stop the enraged wizard.

"I've had it with your stupidity!" Kyle removed his hand from it's secret hiding spot and raised it high, a blue light charging at the end of it. "This is the last time-!"

"Kyle! What are you doing!?" Yo squeezed his shoulder and yanked the wand away from him.

He turned around to face her. His emotions suddenly changed in an instant. "Oh, Yo! I'm just so frustrated!"

"That doesn't mean you can kill him! You need to learn how to handle your anger!"

Kyle turned back to Fanboy. The boy was shaking and on the verge of tears. He let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, doofus. I guess you are telling the truth."

"Did you mean any of that stuff?" Fanboy's voice cracked.

"Uhhh... Of c-course not!" Kyle lied.

Fanboy sniffed and tried to regain some kind of feeling of calm.

Yo looked into the darkened house. "Hey, Fanboy?"

"Yeah?"

"Where's Chum Chum?"

That was it. That was all it took to make Fanboy's face pale and his heart race. It had finally completely sunk in. Chum Chum was gone. His whereabouts unknown. How he even managed to disappear in the first place was another unanswered question. Fanboy had never went a minute without his little buddy unless he knew where he was. It tortured the hero to realize all this but what made everything even worst was that he felt guilty about it. He had decided in an instant that his sidekick's disappearance was his fault. It was the duty of the leader to watch over the sidekick, and Fanboy had failed at this.

With nothing else to lean on, he connected his missing buddy to the lava and thunder. Those two events most likely had something to do with each other! Everyone else in town must have gone elsewhere too because of the same thing. It made perfect sense. No, wait. No, it didn't. Where could that much lava come from? As far as Fanboy knew, Galaxy Hills was not located near any volcanoes, active or otherwise. And the sky. The unusual cloud movements and formations spoke for themselves. Fanboy's head began reeling. There was too much happening at one time.

Yo snapped him back to reality. "Fanboy? Are you okay? Is Chum Chum okay?"

Fanboy jolted. "No! I mean yes! I mean no! Yes! Ah, I don't know!"

Yo and Kyle gasped. It was no secret that the two were nearly never separated, and if they were, they'd keep constant contact. Hearing those words come from Fanboy when Chum Chum's life could be on the line was nothing less than shocking.

"W-What do you _mean_?" Yo was the first to speak, fighting back the urge to cry.

"I don't know what happened to him! I don't where he is! I just don't know!"

Tears broke through and ran down Yo's cheek. "_**What**_?!"

Kyle reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. "Here. I found this on top of my roof, and I just remembered I had it. Bad timing I know, but it might contain what we need."

Fanboy held the small, square envelope in his gloved hands and ran a finger over the bulge in the center of it.

"Oh, yeah. It's clearly addressed to you. I don't understand how anyone could mistake my apartment for your water tower." Kyle added.

"Let's go inside and open it." Fanboy led them into his home.

Kyle used his wand as a flashlight and shined it in every direction. He was surprised to see the Fanlair mush messier than it normally was. Yo sobbed quietly beside him, not caring about anything else unless it involved her beloved.

"Well, here goes nothing." Fanboy signaled for Kyle to wave the light over him. "What is this?"

He had ripped the paper and tilted the envelope into his hand. A silver ball rolled out.

"What if it's a bomb?" He nearly panicked and swung his arm around.

The metallic sphere had no plans of leaving. Four pointed, mechanical legs slid out from four little circles near the bottom of it. They wrapped around Fanboy's fingers while he flailed his arm about wildly. The center of it at the top slipped open, emitting a blue holographic screen.

"Fanboy, stop!" Kyle grabbed his arm.

Yo wiped her cheeks. "Hm?"

Kyle held the youth's arm out straight so they could all clearly see what was appearing on the twelve-inch screen.

"Good morning, Fanboy, Yo, Kyle."

The top half of a broad chested beast faded into the center of the screen. It had large biceps, and a short black beard that grew under it's mouthful of uneven, sharp, and jagged teeth. His eyes were blank and had a dull glow to them, and his ears were small and leaf-shaped. Behind his ears, there were two large bull-like horns that touched the edges of the screen. When the unknown creature greeted the three children, he somehow knew exactly where they would be standing. Fanboy in the middle, Kyle to the right and Yo to the left. What Fanboy and Kyle found to be one of the oddest things about him was how he managed to know their names. Assuming that he most likely had a lot to do with the lava and thunder, they didn't bother to question it any further.

"What is he?" Fanboy asked the only expert in the room on other worldly creatures.

"How am I supposed to figure that out?"

"Do you think he has something to do with Chum Chum?" Yo sniffed.

Fanboy shushed her.

"I'm glad you received my message. Who I am matters not. You will meet me in due time. What I have done is what you should focus on."

Fanboy glared, knowing where this was heading.

"The one you know as Chum Chum is no longer in your presence as I'm positive you've noticed. There is only one way you can retrieve him. It will test everything about you and what you're capable of. I will reveal no other information. Everything that is needed in order to achieve minor goals are inside the very item which projects me at this very moment. I enjoy giving my enemies a fair chance. Don't let me down."

And with that, the sphere closed up and fell to the floor. Kyle reached down to pick it up, observing it's smooth, reflective surface.

"We should keep really good care of this thing." Yo was the first to speak after the silence that filled the water tower.

"This also means he has Chum Chum somewhere." Fanboy clenched his fist made a quiet vow to himself. "We need to check if we have a map."

This wasn't the first time that Chum Chum had been taken away from Fanboy, but this time was clearly much more serious in the sense that several lives would be endangered, if they haven't been already, if he didn't find Chum Chum.

Kyle raised an eyebrow at them. "What is this _we_ business?"

Fanboy and Yo looked back at him with expecting faces. The English boy sensed what they wanted and immediately protested. "Oh god, no! No! I absolutely refuse to go on some grave mission with the likes of you two!"

"Please, Kyle!" Fanboy begged. "I need your help just as much as I need Yo's."

Kyle glanced at Yo who quickly shook her head.

This also wasn't the first time that Kyle had seen Fanboy take immediate action and suddenly become serious. It was a strange even to witness. He knew without a doubt that Yo was feeling the same way as Fanboy but for different reasons. Kyle mentally debated with himself if he should actually travel with them on a perilous journey. Staying behind would be an idiotic decision...

"I'll go with you..." He muttered.

"Great!" Fanboy pumped his fist in the air.

The sound of Kyle's griffin screeching caught everyone off guard. The owner of said griffin ran out to see what the problem was.

Bolts of thunder and lightning were striking closer to the Fanlair, the lava was eating up more of the building, getting much closer to the water-tower turned house. Kyle yelled his new traveling partners' names to warn them.

"Uhhh... I _really _think we need to leave! Like, right now!"

Fanboy and Yo didn't understand why he was in such a desperate hurry until they felt the tower tilt forward. They followed Kyle onto the roof where their only method of transportation was waiting. He helped them on to it's back and flew off, avoiding the inclement weather as best it could.

Fanboy turned back to see what was becoming to the only home he had known for his life. He was saddened by the fact he didn't get to say any last words or even take one final look at his belongings. As level- headed as he was trying to be, he truly couldn't handle the speed of how things were moving along. He watched the structure fall victim to the lava and sniffed.

"We're comin' for ya Chum Chum."

o0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo 0o

"Fanboy! Fanboy!"

"Scream all you want! He'll never hear you."

~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~

Well... That felt like an eternity...

On a side note~ (uO)b Since I'm not close friends with anybody who likes FB&CC, I have to rely on mostly my opinion and the possible opinions of others when I write a new chapter or even a story. I have no one who can look at them and tell me what they think before I post it. I don't know... I just felt like saying that :/ OuO


	3. A Broken Hearted Boy

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Chapter 3: A Broken Hearted Boy

"How do you expect us to make it to space?"

"I don't have a clue! It's not like he gave us a spaceship!"

Yo and Kyle argued over how they could possibly make it to their next destination which was located somewhere far away in the outer realms of space. According to the map that had received from the kindness of the yet to be named, horned beast, they were to somehow travel to a planet in a galaxy they had never heard of or more specifically, never knew existed.

The group had landed in a field on a cliff that overlooked a valley below. The scenery was almost entirely green due to the amount of vegetation that bared flowers and fruits of many kinds. None of them knew where they were. The map didn't have the location labeled, and the griffin, who was laying under the shade of a tree, seemed to not care. He had grown tired of carrying them and needed a break.

Fanboy stood at the edge of the cliff, ignoring all of them. As far as he knew, there weren't any noises coming from anywhere. Not even the wind rolling off the cliff and blowing past his ears was a concern for him. It was as if the world didn't exist around him. Like he was the only one...

"You and him were so eager to save Chum Chum! We've already encountered a major problem!" Kyle got closer to Yo's face.

Yo took a step forward as well. "Get over it! Just get used to the fact that we're going to have problems!"

Kyle growled, and Yo tightened her fists.

Fanboy observed the sky, lost in thought. The sky was a dark blue that faded into a lighter blue. Somewhere at the horizon, there were hints of yellow and red. Far off into the distance, he could barely see the moon peeking out behind some clouds. Fog that lifted from the valley hovered upwards, creating a light mist. He figured that the sun had just set and night was coming soon. They had been flying for that long? Fanboy wasn't sure what to think about that, but he knew they were no longer in Galaxy Hills. The whole town was most likely destroyed by then.

With a depressed sigh, he lifted his hands up and placed them under his mask which he had worn for so long that it felt like a part of him. In fact, it practically was. There were only two people who had seen his "secret identity," and they were Retchy and... Chum Chum. He slowly removed the elastic fabric and took a final look at the item. A wave of memories rushed through him, including the time he first got the mask. It was all coming back to him. Fanboy tried to pretend as though it didn't bother him, but he knew what he had to. He lowered his hands and let the mask slip from them. The offensive article of clothing descended calmly before being carried away with a small gust of wind.

"Fanboy! Please tell Kyle that- Fanboy...?" Yo's anger subsided when she noticed something _off _about the boy.

"Who's Fanboy?" He sniffed and kicked the ground. "I don't know anyone with a stupid name like that."

"Fanboy... you're scaring me."

"My name isn't Fanboy!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Kyle took a few steps towards him. "Don't you go and get all wonky on us just because you're other half is missing!"

Fanboy turned around to reveal his uncovered face, reddish brown hair and all. Kyle froze in place. Did he really view this as being that serious? Kyle slapped his face. _Of course he does! _

"My name is _Tobias_." He said with a flat voice. "I want you to call me that from now on. Well, at least until we find Chum Chum."

Kyle and Yo exchanged glances.

"Uhhh... Fan- I mean, Tobias, why did you take off your mask?" Yo asked him.

"I screwed up big time. I failed my best friend. He probably hates me..."

Kyle may have not known the troublesome duo for a long time, but he knew them long enough to believe that the thought of either of them hating each other sounded impossible. Kyle didn't get a chance to share this with him though. The silver, metal ball had jumped out of his closed hand, catching the attention of all three. It's tiny legs carried it across the grass and over the cliff where it fell. They gasped.

"Kyle! Why did you let that happen!?" Yo demanded an answer.

Kyle stammered. "Uhhh... Err... I-I-I didn't _let _it happen!"

Tobias looked over the cliff. "I guess we have to follow it. C'mon!"

The maskless hero was nearly prepared to jump off and dive right after it. Kyle's griffin had been watching the scene unfold and saw this as it's cue to come in. The large creature grabbed Yo and Kyle and caught Tobias. It soared downwards at faster speeds than it normally flew for it's master. Tobias held on to it's broad neck and tried using it as a way to protect his face from the rushing wind.

"Wow! This one of the very few times I've actually felt the wind in my hair!"

Yo noticed an object shinning in the small amount of light left in the sky. She reached for it but was too far away to actually grab it. "Tobias! Get the griffin to catch the map!"

He almost didn't turn around. He wasn't used to anyone calling him by his real name. With what looked like a far distance to go, Tobias turned the griffin to the right and reached for the map. The magical creature caught sight of large rocks coming out of the cliff. It failed to dodge them and was sent tumbling down. The children held on to the griffin as if it would keep them alive. They let out a few screams that were stopped by the occasional hitting of a rock. The griffin managed to continue flying at an almost steady pace, sustaining some minor injuries to it's wings.

"Why are we going down here anyway, cylinder-head!?" Kyle asked him, rubbing a spot on his forearm that was bound to produce a bruise.

At first, he gave no answer. He only concentrated on what was beyond the low lying clouds on the valley floor. The closer they got, the more he could see something. It looked like a whirlpool at first, but then it occurred to him what they were flying into.

"It's a vortex or portal of some sort!"

"A what?" Kyle and Yo said in unison.

The griffin flew into the portal; the map fell in after. Once they were both out of sight, the portal closed.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo 

"HA! They're so stupid!"

"Watch your mouth! I have to give the weird kid props for actually knowing what it was..."

"What did you expect? We're dealing with a comic book and sci-fi nerd."

"But that Asian girl seems like she could be pretty clueless."

"What about the Brit?"

"What about him?"

"Will you all shut up!"

The group of villains seated around the gold colored, oval table became quiet at the sound of their leader's roaring voice. They looked to the end of the table where he, the large, horned beast with red skin, was sitting.

"We apologize, Crates."

"Now," he said, uneven, jagged teeth showing in all their beauty, "It was I who formulated this plan. I expect you all to cooperate with your miserable, pathetic fuss. Got it?"

"Oh, yes you're evilness!" Eduard said with a broad smile.

"Suck up." Copy Kitten rolled her eyes.

"You're just jealous." The ten-year-old boy crossed his arms over his chest.

"Of what?" Copy Kitten glared down at him. "Your money or your stupidity?"

Eduard stuck his tongue out at the half woman, half cat. She hissed back, ears folded down.

"**Silence**!" Crates slammed his enormous fists against the table, scaring everyone.

Eduard hid behind Blair, and Copy Kitten whimpered.

"Don't make me regret hiring you two." Crates narrowed his blank eyes at the two. "Back to business. Thunderella, how did that thunderstorm of your's go?"

Thunderella pushed her wavy, brown hair out of her face and proudly admired her Lightning Rod staff. "I conjured up the best I could. I even darkened the sky for that added affect. It frightened those three _children_, and made the journey out of that back water town a tad difficult."

"Ugh..." Crates groaned, not liking the sound of 'a tad difficult.' He turned to Global Warmer. "And you?"

Global Warmer examined his newly manicured nails. "That was the most destruction I've produced in _ages_. Do you have an idea how difficult it is to bring that much lava to one place?"

Crates waited for him to finish, expecting more detail than complaints.

"Oh, and I managed to melt Galaxy Hills."

"Good." Crates said, satisfied with his answer. "Blair?"

Blair, a large, round, sloppy looking man with a bald head and large nose, replied to his boss; his tongue hanging out as usual. "I did my finest work, boss! That rotten little Fanbrat was almost killed by the fwont door! Can you believe it? A doow!"

Crates looked unamused, lips settled at a fine line. "I don't expect any better or worst from you, Blair."

"When are we going to finally stop wasting all this time and cut to the chase?"

One of Crates's furry, black eyebrows twitched at the sound of the flamboyant accent. It was coming from Alvarez.

He set down his mirror and leaned forward to get a good look at the beast. "Why, Crates? You promised us the end of all heroes! When will the promise be met!?"

"In due time, you obnoxious, impatient piece of crap!"

Alvarez leaned back in his chair, smiling to himself. "If there's anything I love more than power, women, and money, it's definitely pissing you off."

The bearded beast ignored his closing comment and glanced around the table in search of his children. "Where's Damien and Diva?"

"They says they comin' back with the prize, boss!" Blair happily answered his question.

The metal doors to the elevator opened. Fog poured into the large room as two people walked out of the elevator. One of them appeared to be holding a cage, but no one really knew for sure because of the blanket of fog covering them.

"Ah! My children!" Crates happily greeted them.

The fog gradually cleared to reveal two fifteen-year-old twins with the same shade of blonde hair. Diva's was tied into two long, curled pigtails while Damien's was neatly combed to the sides and out of his face. It was clear that they shared a love for the color purple when one took one look at the way they were dressed. Diva's dress, hair ribbons, stockings, corset, and nail polish all contained different shades of the royal color. Damien on the other hand, was only wearing a purple coat and tie. As much as he enjoyed the color, he preferred not to over do it like his sister.

Everyone in the room looked over their chairs to see the infamous twins. It wasn't the first time they had seen the two, but there was something in Diva's hand that intrigued them. To add on to the mystery of the box-like object in her hand, the twins were wearing gas masks that covered their entire face.

Diva was the first to remove her's. She observed the people that filled the room, making sure to give each and every one of them the same look they were giving her. When she saw her father at the end of the table, she ran over to the giant, wrapping her arms around his muscles and lifting one leg in the air.

"Good afternoon, Daddy!" Diva excitedly exclaimed, throwing the item on the center of the table.

"Did my little girl have a hard time getting that fat idiot in his proper place?" Crates cuddled his daughter.

"I'm not fat!" A voice from the cage exclaimed, offended.

"What was that!?" Copy Kitten backed away from the cage.

Thunderella peaked into the darkness of the small cage to see a pair of saddened eyes looking directly into her's. She turned away, becoming disinterested in it. "It's that stupid _Chum Chum_."

Blair picked up the cage and began shaking it violently. "He looks like a little orange ball!"

"Hey! Cut that out!" Chum Chum demanded.

Damien removed his own gas mask. "We used the nerve gas, father. He can't really move for the time being."

"Excellent!" Crates clapped his hands together. "He shall be moved to the cell on his proper side by tomorrow."

"You guys can't do this!" Chum Chum yelled. "Fanboy _will _stop all of you!"

The villains were quiet but soon burst into laughter.

Chum Chum's eyes began to water. "Just wait and see! He's on his way to save me right now!"

"As true as that may be, he doesn't know what's coming on this journey of his." Crates informed the small boy with an arrogant smile.

"That doesn't matter! Fanboy will always have hope, he won't stop till he finds me!"

"Wow." Copy Kitten giggled. "He sure is annoying."

"I think he's adorable." Alvarez teased him.

"How cute." Eduard chuckled. "Keeping a thing like hope alive..."

"What are you talking about, midget!?" Copy Kitten raised a perfectly trimmed eyebrow at him. "You two are like the same age!"

Eduard gestured his hand for her to stop talking. "That doesn't matter!"

"Enough of this! Take him back to the room. Prepare him to be moved to the cell tomorrow morning." Crates ordered his children.

They complied hastily, saying their good byes and stepping back into the elevator.

Crates turned back to the others. "They're going down the portal that leads to that inferior underwater world, Atlas. I'll be sending a special task force comprised of a select few of you. I don't want any failures, nor do I want those kids to be _accidentally _destroyed. Out with all of you!"

"Geeze. This guy sure can switch between business mode and anything else pretty fast." Copy Kitten remarked under her breath.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo 

Chum Chum had been let out of his cage and into a dark room with very little light. He looked up at the barred window in the wall near the ceiling. He cringed as he thought about the way he was suddenly captured in the Fanlair shortly after Fanboy had fallen asleep. They took him away so easily. Too easily... The last thing he was able to see before they injected a strange fluid into his arm was the back of the couch where Fanboy was sleeping, and his friend's foot hanging off it. When Chum Chum had finally woken up after the mysterious substance wore off, he quickly acted out of instinct. Call for Fanboy. There was only one problem with that. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know who had told him to stop yelling for him. The voice sounded familiar though. Not a voice like the villains had. It was a comforting voice...

"Fanboy. Where are you?"

~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~

I actually have a valid reason for this not being posted on time. I had the flu and wasn't allowed to get on the computer.

I just realized Crates name looks like crates. So I'll give you the appropriate pronunciation~

Crates= Kray-teez

Does that help? .-.

Anyway, if anything is confusing, which I'm sure a lot is, I'll actually be clearing that all up very soon~


	4. The Underwater World of Atlas Part 1

~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~

Chapter 4: Fishboy and the Underwater World of Atlas Part 1

Kyle stirred in his sleep due to the feel of his hair sweeping across his closed eyes and tickling his nose. He flinched when he felt something barely touch his face. Kyle twitched and slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurred, and he felt drowsy. It took him a few seconds of blinking to see glimpses of his surroundings in a higher clarity. The young mage raised up, confused. He turned from side to side, seeing nothing but blue, rocks, and coral.

"Where am I? ...What is this?" He waved his hand around in front of his face. "Water...? Ahh!"

His eyes widened in shock, and he held out both of his hands.

His fingers had webbing between them like the toes of a frog. There were strange red and silver spots on his arms that had taken the place of his freckles. He ran his fingertips over them, not sure of what they were.

"What's going on?" Kyle was coming close to panicking but managed to keep calm. That was, until he caught sight of what had become of the lower half of his body. "My legs!"

His legs had been replaced with a fish's body. The ventral side was silver, and the dorsal side was red. He reached his arm up and bent it behind his back. As he expected, there was a dorsal fin that started a few inches after his spine. None of this was making any sense to Kyle. He wanted to believe that they hadn't made it into that portal at the bottom of the valley, and he was probably dead somewhere. Or maybe, he was still in his warm bed, sleeping. This was all just a silly dream that would end as soon as he woke up. Yeah. He just needed to wake-

"Hiya, Ky!"

The wizard jumped, heart pounding.

"Oh, did I scare you?"

"No. I just like jumping in place!"

"That's weird. You should get a hobby."

Kyle made one of his typical annoyed expressions when he couldn't find the words to respond with.

Tobias completely ignored him. "Anyway, guess what!"

Kyle sighed, there was just no winning with him. "What?"

"We're fish people!"

Once Tobias had popped out from behind the rock Kyle had been laying on, he had turned his head away so he didn't have to see the boy's once again chipper face. Now, that he said _we're_, he faced him. Indeed, he also had the fish body and skin markings that were black and white bands on his arms and chest. Tobias's body was orange with the same markings. He recognized the species as a clownfish. Hm. How fitting for him. The name at least.

"You're all weird looking and boring and red."

Kyle swam off the rock. When he was taking in bits and pieces of his surroundings earlier, he had noticed something shine in the rays of sunlight that were reaching through the water. He assumed it was a mirror; one that he could use to get a better look at himself. Tobias followed him and stopped when he did.

"Nothing about me looks weird!" Kyle shouted at him as he observed himself in the mirror shard that had sunk to the bottom of whatever body of water they had ended up in. He couldn't help but to honestly find his new fins, located in the place his ears should be, a bit strange. "And what do you mean by boring?! I'm a redfish!"

"Just look at me!" Tobias spread out his arms for Kyle to get a good look at him. Indeed, he did look more interesting than him... "Hey, have you seen Yo?"

"Are you kidding me? I haven't seen anyone or anything yet. You probably just led us off that cliff into some strange dimension where we are _merboys_. What if we can never leave. Ever! What if Yo ended up in the right place?"

Tobias grabbed a hold of his wrist and pulled him along. "We'll never know unless we find out!"

Kyle's protests went unheard, but he soon ceased his complaining when he payed attention to the setting they passed. He stared in awe at the beauty of the sea life.

Beautiful underwater planets swayed with the water's current as though they were dancing. Colorful rocks and coral decorated the area, adding a very vibrant touch. Kyle's eyes followed schools of fish he had never seen before. They were of all shapes and sizes. Tobias swam through a school of fish, allowing Kyle to touch one of the fish in the large group. In the spot where he poked it, the scales lit up. He watched it leave, scales still glowing. Several items from dry land had met their fate at the bottom of the ocean, or at least that's where Kyle figured they must be. He saw a few bottled messages and broken jewelry that could have belonged to a person of royalty. He picked up a pearl necklace, using his thumb to rub circles around the smooth material that was once under the ownership of an oyster. All around them, rocks had gathered together in unique and interesting formations. They swam through the opening of one of the said rocks. It led them to a gaping hole in the ocean floor that was littered with bright anemones, a clownfish's home. One of them brushed past Kyle's stomach, giving him a strange feeling. _Oh, how I wish I had clothes on..._

"Umm... Do you know where we're going?"

Tobias replied right away. "I saw a giant oyster shell over here that looked promising."

"Wait a minute... By that you mean you've been swimming around all this time? While I was knocked out on that rock?"

"Yupp! I found you after a long time of swimming in circles." He said carelessly. "This is so cool! I wish Chum Chum were here to see this..."

Realizing that even though he seemed rather unusually happy at the moment, he was still sad underneath it. Speaking of which, why was he acting like his normal self again? What had he been doing before he found Kyle? Kyle shook the thoughts out of his head. He decided that he would ask them later.

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO o

"Hmph! Fine. Believe what you will. Live on believing in a lie!"

With those final words, the beast, gas, and fire disappeared, leaving the man alone. He collapsed, face first into the dusty ground.

A woman dressed in black and pink, also adorned in a cloak, ran out of her hiding spot. She got down next to her friend, checking to see if he was alright.

"You need to stop rushing head-first into everything!" She warned him. "You could of _actually_ died this time! Its just like you to not think things through properly!"

He continued to breathe heavily, his face turned the opposite direction from her. The man got to his knees, shaking with every move. The woman placed her hands on his, looking desperately into his cold eyes.

"I don't know what I would do if I lost you next." Her voice lowered. "Promise you'll be more careful next time."

He merely nodded at her, giving her some kind of sign he understood, but then, his stubborn side kicked in.

"... We need to get to the past! I have to tell him! I have to do something! … Before... it's too late. Only he... can stop Crates."

With no clear room for objection, the woman helped him up.

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO o

"Well, maybe you can tell him all about our crazy little adventure when we find him." Kyle made an attempt at a decent smile even though Tobias wasn't looking at him.

They had passed through a gate. Beyond the gold structure was an underwater town filled with many mermaids and mermen. The strongest difference between a lot of them and Kyle and Tobias, was that they appeared to have more fish-like features than human. Kyle had begun to feel like they stuck out. It wasn't the first time he hadn't felt like he fit in. It was a feeling all too familiar to him.

They passed many buildings made from whatever the ocean had to offer and houses built from seaweed or colored rocks. Some of the merpeople had more natural homes that were just the location that species of fish called home.

"The oyster is just up ahead!"

"That's great. Now, may I please have my hand back? I can swim just fine!"

"Oh." Tobias paused. "I didn't realize I was still holding it. Heh."

Kyle jerked his hand away. "I'd hate to ask this..." He hesitated. "Have you-"

"There it is!" Tobias pointed to a large crowd gathered around an even bigger oyster shell.

Kyle awkwardly rubbed his arm. "Yeah... So it is..."

_Right now isn't even the time to be asking a question like that, Kyle._

Tobias swam faster and pushed his way through the intrigued crowd. Kyle did the same but was stuck in between someone who had a tuna's body and an overweight largemouth bass.

Inside the oyster was a yellow-skinned girl, raven hair moving over her face. She brushed it away with one simple, graceful motion of her hand.

"Yo!" Tobias and Kyle said in unison.

Yo's lower body resembled a juvenile queen angelfish. She had mostly blue and yellow scales with a few narrow, neon blue stripes. Her dorsal and anal fins were long and triangular. There was seaweed that had little pink flowers tied around it wrapped around her waist. Her lips were also pink like the seashells covering her chest. The Japanese girl was wearing neon green and baby blue eyeshadow that glittered. In Tobias's own opinion, which was completely opposite of the other's, she looked hideous.

"Ugh! You look like a fat, triangle shaped clown!"

Yo's smile faded as soon as she heard the word _fat_. Forcing herself to put aside her new adoring fans, Yo swam down to him and slapped him across his face using her bright yellow tail fin.

"Shut up! You're a really ugly looking orange color! And you look better with a shirt on."

Tobias held a hand over the reddened mark on his face. "You didn't have to do that!"

Kyle squeezed through the barrier of wide bodies in front of him. "I'd hate to break up your almost fight, but we have something very important to do. After this I couldn't care if you try to kill each other or not."

Yo sat on the edge of the oyster shell. She rolled her eyes but smiled at the boys. "I guess I'll be the mature one here."

Kyle held Tobias back before he could do anything to her.

"Who are all these people? Why do they like you so much?" He asked her while grabbing onto Tobias's shoulders.

"Oh. I woke up in this oyster, and a lot of people were staring at me. They think I'm beautiful~"

"Pffft! You're almost as ugly as Marsha!" Tobias stuck his tongue out at her.

Yo gasped. "Take that back now!"

Kyle clapped his hand over the other boy's mouth, preventing him from saying anything more insulting.

"We need to leave now! Tell your fan club good-bye." Kyle gestured his head towards the mermaids and mermen.

Yo blew a kiss at them, causing them to cheer, clap, and whistle. Kyle glared at her. "Don't let this go to your head! That's all we need is someone else with a bigger ego." He glanced at Tobias.

"Yeah, whatever~"

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO o

They had been swimming around for at least twenty minutes. Yo and Kyle had realized they were wandering into unknown territory. Digging in the back of his mind for minor information he had learned about the ocean, Kyle grimaced at the uglier scenery they passed.

"The farther we are away from light, the darker and more dangerous things become." He stated.

Tobias shivered in the cold waters and glanced at a rusty anchor with skeletons littered around it. The chain to the anchor went somewhere way above them, completely out of sight. He ignored the skeletons and swam faster, leaving behind a trail of bubbles in his path with every movement of his tail.

Since none of them knew where they were going or what they were looking for, it had been decided that they would pass the time by explaining what had happened to them when they arrived in the underwater world. Tobias eagerly went first. He told them that a portal had spat him out and he hit a massive cave. After taking a moment to observe his new body, he swam around, not so much in search of the others but just because, he had admitted. Yo and Kyle were hardly offended but told him to proceed with his story. He then said that he found Kyle sleeping and watched him for a few minutes.

"Wait. Say that last part again." Kyle stopped.

Tobias continued to move forward, whistling as though he hadn't heard him. Kyle brushed the incident off and went next. He didn't remember how he got on the rock or how long he was there for. He could only tell them about how he _calmly_ reacted to seeing a fish's body instead of his legs. Once he got to the part where he and Tobias went to that village to find Yo, said girl picked up. She informed them that when she realized what was going on, a group of other, scary looking mermaids and mermen had gathered around her. They believed she was incredibly beautiful compared to the rest of their society. Kyle actually secretly agreed with that, even though Tobias still didn't. Apparently, they wanted to use her like a trophy of some sort, something to stare at.

"Guys, I really think we should turn around!" Yo exclaimed a short while after story time had ended.

Tobias used this as material to tease her for. "Getting scared already, Yo?"

"N-No!" She gulped.

Tobias crossed his arms over his chest with a devious smirk. "I bet you couldn't swim... Uhhh... Over there to that hole! That really dark one covered by that black smoke!"

_Hold on. Dark hole. Black smoke. _Kyle followed the direction Tobias's finger was pointing. Far into the distance was an empty part of the ocean. It looked as though it had been stripped and left bare by the hole- That was no hole. It was a long crack in the ocean floor. It would only lead to an even deeper part of the ocean. A section of the ocean that had absolutely no light to speak of. Down there, the pressure from the water would be too much for someone like Yo to handle. Who knows what dangers lurked way over there.

"Yo! Wait, stop!"

Kyle was too late. He saw the eleven-year-old making her way over the mound they were above and across the empty ocean floor. He would have tried to go after her, if it weren't for the fact that he himself was terrified. Who was that next to Yo? Tobias wasn't there beside him... While he was contemplating about the life of animals who were completely blocked from light, they must have wanted to race each other there, leaving Kyle to wonder where they went.

"Those annoying ninnies!" Kyle was usually kinder to girls, but Yo really crossed a line. "Do they want to get killed?!"

Speaking of that, the thought of potentially dieing in a watery grave loomed over Kyle's mind. What if they left him, and he was the only one who could save Chum Chum? A blood curdling scream rang out through the ocean, making Kyle freeze. Yo and Tobias were out of sight. He didn't want to lay eyes on whatever caused the scream. He held on to an unidentifiable object sticking out of the ground while he kept his eyes shut tight. There was a sudden rumbling noise being brought on by what felt like an earthquake. Kyle barely opened one of his eyes. Something was slowly making it's way out of the crack in the ocean floor.

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~

The only reason why this got split in half is because it would have ended up being too long. I already have a good bit of the next part worked out. So, because I have off from school all next week, I'll try my best to focus on this story.


	5. Extra Chapters

I'll be uploading something that goes alongside this story called Extra Chapters. The name is almost the exact description of it. Extra Chapters are one chapter shorts, extra scenes/ events, and something that further explains a chapter. These one chapter stories are meant to happen after a certain chapter. That doesn't necessarily mean that the chapter really does take place after the last chapter. For instance, say something happened, like a character having to go through something difficult, in a chapter that very little detail is given for, the Extra Chapter that goes along with it could be about what happened.

The name of the first Extra Chapter that will be uploaded next week is named _Meet the Villains_.

~Party-In-France's-Pants


	6. The Underwater World of Atlas Part 2

~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~

Chapter 5: Fishboy and the Underwater World of Atlas Part 2

There was a completely black shadow that was in the shape of a jellyfish but not your average jellyfish from Earth. This one was massive and had several lappets that were glowing, most likely ready to sting whoever had interrupted it in it's home. It was right above the crack where Tobias and Yo had swam to. Kyle didn't want to assume that they had been captured by it, but he didn't want to stay any longer to find out. The jellyfish-like creature moved towards Kyle; more of it's details became clear as it fully revealed itself.

The jellyfish had the typical transparent bell that allowed anyone to see the organs underneath. What was inside the bell was slightly disturbing though. It's oral arms were very lengthy and covered in small stingers that continuously created small electric currents. The entire jellyfish was varying shades of purple, blue, and some parts were black. It raised one of it's lappets up and struck the ground with a powerful bolt of electricity that created a crater in the ocean floor.

Kyle gulped and swam away as fast as possible. "What is that _thing_!? It looks like it was severely affected by a radiation leak or something!"

When he thought he had escaped it, an odd darkness loomed over him. Kyle looked up. "You've got to be kidding me..."

The jellyfish was just right above him, lappets and oral arms ready to strike. Kyle fled once again, giant jellyfish following at a speed that was almost just as fast. It was amazing, in a bad way, to know that something so large could move so fast. He dodged every zap of killer electricity and hid behind whatever object he could. The Brit's heart was racing faster than it ever had. It wasn't every day that someone were chased by a killer jellyfish.

"No, Mr. Jellyfish! I prefer not to be turned into fried fish today!" Kyle exclaimed as he was nearly hit by one of the bolts that come scarily close to hitting his head. "You're going to get yourself killed, Kyle!"

"I'll say!"

Tobias and Yo were beside a rock, looking as though they had no idea about his current situation.

"W-Where did- H-How did- Where were _**you**_?!" Kyle demanded an answer from them.

"We turned back around before we reached the crack." Yo responded.

Tobias went next. "We didn't know where you went!"

Kyle shoved a finger in his face. "Are you joking?! I thought you were dead!"

"Dead?" Tobias repeated. "That's one way to jump to conclusions."

The jellyfish interrupted the conversation with a deadly bolt of electricity. Yo clung to Tobias before realizing what she had done and mouthed the word ew. Kyle was ready to flee again, but the sudden appearance of a spear flying out from behind some rotten looking brain coral on top of a small hill made him stop. He turned to the direction the spear had come from, waiting for the owner of the spear to come out of hiding. The jellyfish was stabbed in it's bell. A dark purple liquid oozed out of it's new wound that was gradually becoming wider as it tried using an oral arm to remove the weapon. The jellyfish gave up after it only managed to break the long piece of wood coming out of the arrowhead. Tobias eagerly awaited to thank the stranger who had saved them but was held back by a cautious Kyle who warned him not to trust anyone in the new strange world.

Once the intimidating creature vanished, their savior swam into the open. It was a woman or a mermaid rather. She had many of the same features they had, but she looked much less human. Her entire body was a light gray with the exception of her back and sides which was a darker gray. There were three gills on her sides that were colored black like her lengthy hair. Her hair was combed back and behind her fin-like ears. She had plain white eyes with no visible sign of pupils or irises and a prominent nose. Her body was covered in various scars and adorned with very traditional jewelery along with a few weapons such as knives and daggers that were tied around her waist. Tobias stared at her in total awe. He believed she resembled a creature from an underwater planet that he had read about in one of his many comics. He was quick to believe that she was most likely a warrior. Yo hid behind the two boys, afraid of the thought of the mermaid attacking them next.

She turned to them slowly. "You three."

"Uhhh... Yes?" Tobias said nervously.

"What are you doing in this part of Atlas?" She spoke quickly in a business type way.

None of them knew how to answer. They had only just now known were they were, thanks to her.

She swam a circle around them, taking in every detail of their appearances. "I see that you are not from here."

"You don't say?" Kyle bit his tongue.

"Silence, young red head!" She removed a dagger from her belt and aimed the blade at Kyle's throat.

He gulped and made eye contact with the woman threatening to kill him.

"Listen, lady! We don't want to hurt anyone! You see we're actually-" Tobias was stopped by her.

"Wait a minute..." She lowered the dagger at Kyle's neck. "I know who you are now! I apologize for not seeing it before! Yes! You are the ones they speak of in the prophecy!"

"Prophecy?" The three children leaned forward.

"The grand wizard of crimson and gold. The magic raven of pink. Most important of all... the Worst Hero." She bowed to each of them in order. "How could I have been so rude? My name is Koirai."

"Magic raven...?" Yo repeated to herself.

Tobias's mind almost seemed to shut down when he heard the final phrase "Worst Hero" being directed towards him. Kyle was subtly reveling in the fact that she had referred to him with such a title that he had been wanting for all his life. He smiled at the mermaid, suddenly becoming fond of Koirai.

"What did you say this place was again?" Yo spoke up.

Tobias payed close attention to the way Koirai spoke without ever moving her lips or opening her mouth. "This is the Underwater World of Atlas which is located on the planet of Aradia."

Kyle's smile was replaced with a confused frown. "Aradia...? Wait. Where's our map?!"

Tobias shrugged, and Yo did the same. Their newly made friend added her own knowledge of the missing item. "I did notice that the Ferocious Belle was in possession of a metallic, silver ball."

"You mean it has the map?"

"If that's what it looks like then yes."

Kyle covered his face with his hands and let out a muffled scream. "We _need_ to get it back so we can get out of this horrid place!"

"If Belle finds anything, she will claim it as her's forever." Koirai informed them. "She has stolen many items from my people for centuries. All the objects you see laying around her domain are things she has taken from us. Belle has taken more than just objects though..."

Tobias turned in every direction to survey the amount of items surrounding them. As far as anyone could tell, Belle had laid claim to a large portion of the seafloor. There was only one way to take something back from a creature who had been stealing stuff for hundreds of years.

"Yes!" Tobias thrust his fist into the air. "Our first real fight, and we haven't even gotten anywhere yet!"

"What kind of a name is Ferocious Belle? And do we seriously have to fight that overgrown jellyfish?" Kyle asked her, hoping very a reasonable explanation for his first question and a no for his second one.

Koirai removed a dagger that had an interesting design on it's blade from a pocket on her waist belt. She held it close to her face, running her index finger along the edges of the blade. "I have been saving a special weapon to use on the careless creature which has disturbed the seas for far too long. She took my sister many years ago. I pray night and day that these countless skeletons do not belong to her."

Tobias, more than ready for some form of excitement, was already making his way towards the jellyfish's lair. He slipped past the others too easily.

"The answer is yes. If you wish to leave so badly then you must fight to get your map back." Koirai did a few practice jabs at the water before turning back to them. "You seem to be missing the flat-headed boy who's name I believe to be Tobias or Fanboy."

"How did you know his name without us telling you?" Yo suppressed some amount of being impressed by the mermaid.

Koirai ignored this question and swam away in the same direction as Tobias.

Kyle angrily swung his tail and clenched his fists. "Hasn't he learned from something like this already?!"

Yo snickered. "What? Do you expect any more or less from him?"

"You do prove a good point... He better not rush headfirst into battle after this."

"That's wishful thinking."

Tobias had already returned to the crack in the bottom of the ocean. He leaned over the trench to see nothing but inky bottomless nothing. The length of the trench had no visible beginning or ending. It's width was the perfect size for the jellyfish, though. From the corner of his eye, he could see a familiar shiny ball.

"The map! It must have dropped it when it ran away totally chickening out... Well, this makes everything a lot easier!" Tobias said as he extended a hand out to reach for the necessary item.

The seafloor rumbled causing the object to fall into the crack. As expected, the jellyfish was the cause of the rumbling. It hovered out of it's domain the same way it had before. Menacing and slow. Tobias bit back any feelings of fear he had. The map was on top of Belle's hood.

"Wait! Tobias!" Yo called out.

"Don't fight when you don't have a weapon, you boob!" Kyle shouted.

"Huh?"

In the moment he had faced his friends, if he really wanted to call _Yo_ a friend, Belle had wrapped her tentacles around the boy's abdomen and electrocuted him. His body had become stiff as the unknown voltage of electricity powered through him, creating a surprising amount of pain. She didn't let go of him until she tossed him aside like trash. Tobias landed in front of slightly worried Yo and Kyle. They

helped the boy up and glanced at his new wound. It was a dark red color with blackened spots. Such a description only meant that he been electrocuted and burned. Tobias's body tingled from the remaining electricity of the attack.

"She's a fighter..." Tobias said through a barely open mouth.

"This wouldn't have happened if Kyle-"

"Don't blame this on me, Yo!"

Another spear struck Belle's hood. She cringed in pain. The weapon had went in much deeper than last time. Koirai was right behind the children.

"You should leave. Now."

"We would love to, but without the map, we'll just have to stay here!" Kyle reminded her.

"Leave that to me..." Tobias fearlessly swam to Belle.

Yo rolled her eyes as Kyle decided whether or not he cared anymore. They watched him in disbelief of his impulsive decision.

It was Tobias's mission to get the map back that settled on top of the jellyfish's transparent head. He maneuvered around the large body of the aquatic creature in order to reach his goal. Even though he was weakened by Belle, he did his best to make sure that she couldn't cause him any more harm. He dodged a few tentacles that flew out in front of him, swimming over, around, under, or in between them. With more ease than he expected, Tobias made it to the jellyfish's bell. Belle wildly struck her lappets and oral arms in all directions.

"He's going to get killed if we don't do anything!" Yo exclaimed.

Koirai placed a webbed hand on her shoulder. "I know you wish to save your friend, but he has already angered the beast. He has to get himself out of this."

Yo looked up at the adult mermaid and back to Tobias who was carefully trying to grab the map. After a few failed attempts, he finally grasped the silver ball.

Koirai shoved the other two aside. "I apologize that our encounter was short and aimless. If you arrive to shore before sunset, you'll be returned to your normal forms."

Yo nodded her head as a sign that she understood, when in all reality, she truly couldn't comprehend anything at that moment.

"I'll wait for that buck-toothed idiot to come back so he doesn't get in any more trouble. You go without me." Kyle said to Yo who raised an eyebrow at him.

"It can't be that close to sunset, right?"

"I regret to inform you that it is dangerously close to sunset. Hurry!"

"How did you know that...?"

Yo gulped and swam away quickly. She didn't know how to get to the shore, but she thought that if she continued swimming at a diagonal, upwards direction, she'd make it.

"Hey, look! I got the map! This thing is hard to hold on to!" Tobias happily showed Kyle his achievement.

"That's nice! Now, c'mon! We have to make it to shore before sunset!" Kyle had already begun to move forward.

"What?!" Tobias turned around to see Koirai preparing to fight Belle. "What about her?"

Kyle furrowed her brows, beginning to feel somewhat bad for her. He shook his head. "She'll be just fine, but we won't if we don't hurry!"

Tobias hesitated to follow the Brit. He was soon forced to after a bolt of electricity nearly struck him.

The two boys stayed close to the ground unlike Yo who was far ahead of them. Using all their physical power, they pushed themselves along. Tobias was in front of Kyle. The mage trailed behind by mere inches that he couldn't make up no matter how hard he paddled.

"Why do we have to make it to shore before sunset?" Tobias asked the slower of the two.

"If we do, we'll be returned to our normal forms! _Human_ children. Ah!"

Tobias came to an abrupt stop. "Kyle? Kyle!"

"I'm perfectly fine...! Ahh!"

Kyle's hand covered a wound on his tail. Blood leaked out into the water, forming a dark red cloud. He tried moving but only yelled out in pain again.

"There's an anchor stuck in you!" Tobias gasped.

Surely enough, when Kyle actually examined his tail, the tip of a large, rusted anchor had cut it's way into him. Despite the fact that they were in a part of the ocean that had little light, if he squinted his eyes, Kyle could see the anchor's equally rusted chain that was connected to an old, sunken ship. Kyle tried pulling on his tail again.

"Ahh!" The preteen's eyes were stinging with tears.

Tobias, too caught up in the scene to know what to do, watched Kyle suffer. He bit his bottom lip and noticed dark figures coming dangerously close to them. "Uhh... Umm... K-Kyle... I-I think you're attracting sharks!"

"Well, excuse me for bleeding everywhere! Ah! It hurts so much..."

The brunette finally helped his friend by pulling the anchor out of his tail. He struggled to do so and panicked when he noticed the silhouettes of sharks were coming closer. Once the anchor had been removed from Kyle's tail, Tobias tried to swim away.

"What's wrong now?!" Tobias asked, becoming increasingly worried.

"I can't swim! Bollocks! This is all we need!"

"I'll just have to carry you and the map."

"What is that supposed to- Hey! Put me down!"

Tobias was carrying Kyle in his arms and the map in the hand that hand that wasn't on Kyle. With one push of his tail fin, they were moving again. _This is embarrassing! _Kyle thought to himself as he wrapped his arms around Tobias's neck.

"Did you feel something just now?"

Kyle avoided eye contact with the American. "Feel what? Teeth grazing... my tail... AHHH! There really are sharks chasing us!"

The sharks chasing them were nothing like the ones on Earth. Their bodies were larger and equipped with special lights to help them see at the bottom of the ocean. A shark on the side of Tobias eyed Kyle's bleeding tail hungrily and opened its jaws which were lined with razor sharp teeth. It's tongue was hideous and covered in sores.

"I would appreciate it if you can swim a lot faster!"

"I'm trying! You're making me panic even more!"

Another shark came up on the other side of Tobias. It had a scar over it's right eye and was practically missing said eye. Several of it's teeth were also absent.

"Go up! Go up!"

Tobias did as Kyle told him to. The shark that had stared at Kyle's wounded tail bit down. Unfortunately, it had been on the other shark's head. Kyle breathed a sigh of relief, but his breath hitched when he felt his tail burn intensely.

"Please, hurry..." Kyle said through clenched jaws.

Yo had already made it onto shore. Just as Koirai had told her, she had her legs back. She stumbled out of the water and collapsed on the sands of the beach. The raven-haired girl coughed up sea water from her lungs. She turned over on her back.

"Where are those two...? It's almost sunset!"

As if her question was being answered, the sound of water splashing hit her ears and two figures came into view a few feet away from her. It was Kyle and Tobias. Amidst the coughing and splashing between the two, Tobias saw that Yo was watching them and tossed the map to her. She barely caught the object with her index and middle finger. She then used it as a makeshift mirror to check her hair.

Kyle breathed heavily, chest heaving. "That was terrible... I'm staying away from any body of water for as long as I live..."

Tobias panted. He missed the feeling of breathing in air like a human. "I'm only disappointed that it didn't last very long... Everything went by too fast. I thought the start of a journey was supposed to be easy?"

"You're asking the wrong person..."

The two boys were sitting in water that covered everything below their waists. Kyle raised one of his legs out of the clear blue water and wiggled his toes with a smile.

"She was right! We have our legs back!"

"I'd hate to rain on your parade Kyle but you're cut is still bleeding." Tobias pointed at the gaping cut on his leg that was pouring out blood.

Kyle let out a scream and put his leg back in the water. Yo dropped the map between her legs and looked up.

"What was that?!"

"No time to explain! We need to find a doctor!" Kyle half explained to her.

Yo kicked the silver ball to the side and stood up. "How can we if you're naked?"

Kyle and Tobias gave her their own brands of confused expressions. They slowly looked down to see that Yo was correct.

"How the-?"

Yo gave them a straight face. "Before I came to shore, I found a white sheet and wrapped it around my waist. Did you really think your clothes would just magically appear?"

Kyle's face turned a bright red while Tobias managed to keep his cool.

"Can I see the map, Yo?"

She gently kicked it to him in the water. Tobias picked it up and brought it to his face. The projector screen popped up, emitting it's sole item. The map now had a large green check mark over the first location which indeed did say _The Underwater World of Atlas_. A large grin formed on Tobias's features.

"I suppose it's too much trouble to ask if we could I don't know... fine me some _medical _assistance!" Kyle showed his wound to Yo who gagged at the sight of it.

"That's way too nasty to be a cut! Hold on, hold on!" Yo ran off in the direction of a pier.

"I hate you." Kyle sighed and Tobias giggled.

~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~

WELL, that was a lot longer than I thought it was going to be ._. It took a lot longer, too.

I felt as though I may have rushed a few things, but I am typing this while I'm sick. That probably isn't a good idea...

After this, I'm going to write the third _Extra Chapter_, which will be _Savaje Twins_.


	7. The Outdoor Marketplace

I didn't want to update this story or any other story before updating _Cherry Knots_. Before I had decided to continue that story though, I had already written most of this one. I will update _Cherry Knots_ and _Extra Chapters _after this though.

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Chapter 6: The Outdoor Marketplace

In a large white castle located within the area of a rich and successful city known as Atlas, the royal guards and servants were running to and fro with chore after chore. The ruler of the city, Queen Victorique, was taking a mid-day nap in her extravagant bedroom. She slept peacefully until the arrival of her most important "servant" interrupted her nap. The woman of about forty-two pulled off her sleeping mask and shot a glare at the blonde woman standing at the door. Due to her still tired expression, said woman could not take the glare as a serious warning.

"Uwova? What do you want from me now?" Queen Victorique groaned.

Uwova pulled at her turquoise sweater. "I apologize for disturbing your rest, but I have very important news to bring you."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"That was the most awful experience of my life."

"At least we got these new clothes for free~"

"Man, wearing your underwear on the inside doesn't feel right..."

The party of three was heading down a beach-side shopping center full of exotic foods and items they had never seen before. The _people _that sold said items were just as exotic. They came in many shapes, sizes, and colors. Tobias stared at everyone they passed by until Kyle smacked the back of his head and informed him that staring is rude, but Kyle himself couldn't keep his eyes off the odd looking creatures that varied from being creatures to somewhat humans. Tobias rubbed the back of his head and adjusted the way he was carrying Kyle on his back.

After Yo had some difficult luck finding a doctor to treat Kyle, the boys were given alternative clothes to wear while trying to find actual clothes to suit them. Even though Kyle would have greatly appreciated being able to wear pants in order to cover the ugly stitches on his right leg, he had no choice but to settle with a pair of tight, blue jean shorts that stopped above his knees. He was also wearing a white dress shirt underneath a red v-neck sweater. There was a gold colored tie under the collar of his shirt that shimmered in the fading sunlight. The sleeves of both the sweater and shirt were rolled up to his elbows.

"Hey, Kyle." Tobias looked over his shoulder at the boy.

"What?"

"Do you think that when you're skin grows back, it'll have to grow your freckles back in the same position they were in before?"

Kyle rolled his eyes. "That is a ridiculous question, and I would rather you say healed and not grow back."

Yo was leading the other two. She held their current most important item in both hands. On the projector screen there was a large green arrow pointing them in the needed direction. Straight forward. It was becoming closer to night, and Yo wanted a place to sleep. She could already see a few stars twinkling above them, but she couldn't see any inns or hotels. To be more accurate, she couldn't even read most of the signs and posters they passed. They were all written in different types of alien language. Yo sighed and smoothed out her black skirt. She thought her new clothes were "just absolutely adorable," even though Tobias said otherwise.

Her outfit included a bright yellow tank top with a pink ribbon, just like the ones she used to have in her hair, on the left strap of the shirt. She wore another shirt that was aqua colored with long sleeves that slipped off her shoulders. The Asian girl was happy to know that there was even a pair shoes available at the shop that resembled her other ones. Along with the shoes, she had two different types of stockings- one pair of stockings was transparent and black with sparkles while the pair underneath those were pink with horizontal black stripes.

"Yo, where are we going, and are we almost there? Kyle weighs more than I thought." Tobias meant no offense but a light grunt coming from Kyle clearly stated that the redhead misunderstood him.

"I don't know! But look at the sky, that doctor took a while tending to Kyle's wound, and it also took us forever to find clothes we liked; it's almost nighttime." She replied while continuing to follow the arrow.

"Well, I just don't feel right without my super hero uniform on! It's not the same I tell you!"

Tobias had the most trouble finding acceptable clothes. He would have almost settled for anything if he hadn't seen the neon green, short-sleeved hoodie that had a purple hood and black drawstrings in the hood. It heavily reminded him of his uniform that was his pride and joy to wear on a daily basis. He paired the hoodie with dark brown cargo shorts. The amount of pockets on them amazed him. Even though he was wearing a belt, his shorts still managed to slip and show a little bit of his lower back. For footwear, he had black, high top shoes that went all the way up to his knees. It was obvious to Kyle and Yo that he laced them up himself. After finding outfits for each of them, they had stumbled upon a place where you could make your own design to put on your clothes. This caused Tobias to dash into the shop, leaving Yo to help Kyle stand on his feet. He came out a few minutes later with his emblem etched onto the chest of the hoodie. It was an exact remake that he felt proud to say he made himself. Kyle was mostly in awe at the fact he managed to make a perfect circle.

The shop they had gone to in order to get much needed clothes and dry off, fortunately had human clothes. The owner of it, an odd green woman who resembled a slug despite the fact that she had two tentacles on each side of her legless body, had explained she sold them to make money faster and easier; though she didn't explain how she acquired them. She also told them that everyone was intrigued with the designs of human clothes from Earth. Kyle couldn't help but to notice that just as they were staring at anyone and everyone, those same people were staring back. Whenever some laid their eyes or eye on the three, they'd gasp and take a picture with a device that could possibly be an other worldly camera or just take a quick look. He couldn't really understand why everyone was so interested in humans.

"Don't you think we should found some place to stop for the night? I mean as much as I would enjoy getting out of this wretched place, we need to get our rest..." Kyle finished his opinion with a wide yawn.

"Why, hello there! Weary travelers! Short and fat!"

The three children jumped, and Kyle clung to Tobias.

"Hey, Yo. I think it was talking about you." Tobias whispered to her.

Standing before them, was what they assumed to be a woman judging by her chest. She was about the same height as Chum Chum and wore very plain beige robes. From under her large black hat, they could see many strands of powder white hair sticking out. She had jet black skin that was wrinkled and sagged in some places. Her body was wide, and her robes covered her feet. There was a large mole on her nose which Tobias tried his best not to lay his eyes on.

"If it's beds which you seek, then I have the perfect place for you to rest your aching heads!" She talked excitedly through the type of dried up voice one would expect to hear from a witch.

"Where would that be exactly?" Yo asked her.

She pointed to a two story building that was nuzzled between a food market and blacksmith. The building wasn't much and appeared to be made from a lot of dry mud. Sensing their thoughts, the woman continued on.

"Now, now, the exterior is nothing compared to the interior! I'll even let you stay one night for free!"

Tobias, unsure of how the others felt about staying at the unknown woman's inn, wanted to spend the night. When Yo turned around to talk it out with them, she was face to face with a begging Tobias. He gave her the best puppy dog eyes and trembling lip he could make.

"It's the only place we'll find, and she seems generous enough to let us stay free." Kyle said.

"We'll stay." Yo told her, and Tobias did a small leap in the air.

"Excellent!" The woman clapped her bony hands together. "Let me show you to your rooms. Follow me!"

The trio followed the woman across the street and into the inn. The inside really was a lot different than the outside. There were hardwood floors and white walls with several paintings and bookshelves. Strange nick-knacks were on each shelf that caught Tobias's attention. Next to the check-in desk, were the stairs that lead to the second story. In the small lobby, there were also a few beings that were no different from the ones outside. They either sat at one of the two tables, conversing with each other in English or _other_ languages that the kids couldn't decipher, or read books from the shelves.

"You can feel free to become familiar with the private library or go straight to your rooms which are on the second floor, all the way to the end of the hall. The boys will share one room, and the girl can have her own." With that, the woman walked off to entice more visitors to her inn.

Tobias walked over to a chair and carefully placed Kyle in it. He rotated both arms and stretched out his back. After being satisfied with the sound of his bones popping, he ventured around the lobby, hoping to speak to anyone that resided in the inn.

"Wait a tic. Did she just say _the boys will share one room_?" Kyle repeated.

Yo, who looked afraid of the creatures in the room, answered him. "Yupp. Her words exactly."

"Hmph. Lucky... I have to sleep in the same bed as _that_." Kyle gestured to Tobias who was making friends with a glob of blue ooze that resembled Yum Yum.

Little did he know, the blue ooze was actually giving him information about Atlas and Aradia.

"This is just Atlas's market and trading center. It puts more cash in the queen's piggy bank. Atlas is a hell of a lot different than this. White castles. Gold toilets."

Tobias's eyes widened. "Gold toilets?!"

"Nah... Well, I don't even know. Those horses are strange." The man made of ooze waved his hand.

"Horses?"

"Well, yeah, little human kid. Everyone who lives in Atlas is a centaur." He said it in a way that made it sound as though it was common knowledge. "Not the kind in your mythology though. Man, these kinds are more human than horse, physically speaking of course."

Most of what he said went through one of Tobias's large, round ears and got caught in his brain. "Uh-huh... What do you mean by that?"

"You'll have to see them for yourself, lil man." He yawned. "I need to get this huge blue butt into bed."

Tobias watched him walk up the stairs until he couldn't see him anymore. He then walked over to a table with other questionable beings. They eyed him carefully, giving him a good once over with however many eyes each of them had. The one who sat across from him looked like a giant, red ant. It's eyes were enormous and contained human-like irises and pupils. It's green eyes roamed over Tobias intimidatingly. Under it's gaze, the boy could feel himself sweating.

"So, you're a human." The ant said, resting one of his thin elbows on the table.

The eleven-year-old pulled at his hood and twirled a drawstring around his finger. "Yeah. Me? Totally human."

The ant spat out between it's mandibles. Sudden flashbacks of when he had been ruthlessly attacked by ants after stepping in their dirt mound homes whipped through his head.

"You don't look so tough." The ant leaned in forward.

Feeling small and weak compared to the ant, he stuttered. He focused on his mandibles. "O-Oh, me? W-W-Weak? Haha! You're pr-probably right! I am j-just a human after all!"

Tobias smiled sheepishly at him while a few seconds of silence passed. The ant suddenly let out a horrendous laugh.

"You're alright kid! Ya' gotta love this guy!"

Once, Tobias had gotten his knees to stop shaking and his heart to return to a normal pace, he joined in the merriment of what was happening at the table.

"Look at him. Making friends like nobody's business. He's too friendly." Kyle said, peeking over his book to watch the other.

"Maybe you're just not friendly enough."

"So says the girl who's afraid of them." Kyle sneered.

"S-Shut up!"

After a couple of hours had passed that were full of chatting, meeting strange yet friendly creatures, and being given tips on where to find the best eateries in town, the group decided to go to bed. They walked up the stairs to their rooms.

"Maybe in the morning when we're fully rested-" Yo began.

Kyle cut in. "Hopefully."

"-we can try to figure out what's happened to us so far." She finished with an awkward smile.

"'Kay then~" Tobias opened the door to his and Kyle's room.

Yo closed the door to her room. Tobias walked into theirs while Kyle stood outside of the door. He was looking out of a window in between the two rooms. Out of the window he could see the large body of water they had come out of only a few hours ago. Night had fallen upon this new place. The moon which was much larger than the one on Earth, had a beautiful reflection on the surface of the water. Stars twinkled in the sky, adding to the illumination from the moon. As he looked down at the water, he suddenly remembered someone... Koirai.

"Aradia..." Kyle listened to the way it sounded rolling off his tongue.

Tobias's hand came out of the doorway and jerked Kyle into their room.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Somewhere in the blackened sky, a book was flying through the air. On the book, sat a blue-gray elf who had hitched a ride on it.

"Could you go any faster?" Scrivener Elf nudged the other.

If Necronomicon had eyes, he would have rolled them. "Do you ave any idea what it's like to use my energy to bring us to this place and have to carry _you_?!"

Scrivener Elf said nothing. A wind whipped passed them. He glanced over to see a pair of wings shinning in the moonlight. Those wings were attached to a lion-like body. He quickly realized who was flying next to them.

"'Ey, buddy!" He shouted at the griffin, "How about helping us out?"

The griffin didn't give them a second glance before flying faster towards the outdoor marketplace.

"That good for nothing, bird... Looks like it's just you and me."

Necronomicon sighed. For miles and miles under and ahead of them, there was only water. The marketplace was a mere speck from their distance.

~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~

I wanted to make half this chapter focus on Chum Chum, but that clearly didn't happen =_= So, the next chapter will be all about him. Also, the next chapter of _Extra Chapters _will be about Tobias and Kyle's night.


	8. Imprisoned For The Villainous Benefit

FluentFletcher2 gave me the idea to rename the chapter the new title you see under this.

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Chapter 7: Imprisoned For The Villainous Benefit

Three robots of highly similar designs, although they were in three different colors: yellow, red, and blue, hovered towards a cell near the end of the tenth floor in the round holding room that was filled with prisoners. The morning rays cast themselves down from the glass circle in the roof. They gave everything a golden glow and made the already amber floor shine like fresh honey. Once, the robots came to the cell, the red one unlocked it, the blue one opened the heavy, metal door and the yellow one woke up the prisoner that was harbored inside.

"Wake up, good for nothing slimeball!" The yellow one fired a laser at the wall. "You must be prepared for your daily morning activities!"

Chum Chum, who was asleep in the corner, jumped up. He dodged the laser and rubbed his eyes. "Wake up? When did I fall asleep?"

"You were asleep for quite a while." The red robot informed him.

"Indeed. You're neighbors complained about a noise keeping them up most of the night." The blue robot added on. "You cried yourself asleep."

"I did...?" Chum Chum was more or less asking himself the question, but the pushy and forceful yellow robot grabbed his small wrist and pulled him out.

"Yes! Now, hurry before you're late!"

"Okay, okay! I can walk for myself you know." Chum Chum gestured to its metallic clamp that was firmly holding him.

"We must keep an eye on you."

Chum Chum only sighed and allowed the robots to lead him out. After exiting the cell, he gasped in horror and shock at the scene in front of him.

In the holding room, there were over fourteen floors that were nothing more than just a different platform that encircled a little over half of the room. Countless others were being emptied out of their cells which all had doors that looked nothing like his. He recognized many of the prisoners as none other than _sidekicks_. Chum Chum never knew that there were so many sidekicks in the world, but which world did they came from? He watched as they were detained by other robots. Most of them were being fitted for special clothes that would hold back their powers, greatly decreasing the chances of rebellion. He then looked upwards at the glass in the roof. The large circle had an unclear design on it that mirrored itself on the floor with the help of the sun. Chum Chum let out a depressed groan as he looked at the beams of light coming through. Their orange glow made him think about his uniform which had been removed shortly after he was thrown in his cell. The window also seemed to rise up some hope in him that felt stupid to have. It gave the depressing room something beautiful and nice to see. Chum Chum stepped closer to the railing and looked down at the amber floor.

"Hey, what are your names?" The ten-year-old asked the three machines.

"I suppose you should be allowed to know our names... Very well. My name is E dash one zero three four." The blue robot replied gracefully.

E-1034 bowed to Chum Chum.

It was the red one's turn. "My title is E dash two zero four two."

E-2042 shook his hand.

"My name is none of your business!" The yellow robot viciously shouted at the young boy.

"Alright, none of your business~" Chum Chum said sarcastically.

"_Oooh_. I see we have a shrewd tongue here. I hope the witch doctor cuts it off and replaces it with a swatter's straw tongue!" The yellow robot hovered faster.

"A- What?!" The brunette didn't have any idea what the machine had said, but he was sure that whatever was coming would be painful.

He began trying to pull his wrist out of the robot's grip but of course could not succeed. That didn't stop him from wriggling his body in many ways and making strange noises that got everyone's attention. The other sidekicks looked on in pity of the boy; unlike him, they stayed quiet.

"Stop fighting!"

Chum Chum was brought to a silver, metal corridor. There were many doors lined up on both walls. From some, he could hear dreadful screaming and from others, he could see bright lights flicker constantly. The dim light of the corridor only added to his worry. The three bots stopped at a door labeled **Witch Doctor: In the business of caring since you didn't.** The painted letters made no sense, but the term witch doctor made him think he would be seeing a woman who took part in voodoo and knew curses and spells that would harm him for years to some. As the door slowly slid open, Chum Chum gulped, preparing for the worst.

"Yeah, who's there?! Oh, it's my patient. Edmund."

Chum Chum wasn't sure when he closed his eyes, but he opened them and examined the doctor in front of him. She was a clear and literal witch. Her skin was green and her chest sagged slightly. She wore a white lab coat over a light blue, cashmere, turtleneck sweater. Her dark blue skirt stopped at her ankles, and her small feet were covered by black, leather high heel boots. She had long black nails that were sharpened and could possibly be incredibly thick. Surprisingly, she had no warts compared to the usual image of witches. She did have a large nose and wiry black hair. Her eyes were an electric blue.

"How did you know my name?" Chum Chum asked the woman in the door.

She put her fists into her wide hips. "Baby, I know everyone's name here. Since, you're my patient and no one else, it only seems natural that I should definitely know yours."

The witch pushed the boy inside using her clipboard. The door shut itself automatically, and the three robots left to take care of other daily jobs.

Chum Chum took a second to become familiar with his surroundings. The room was small and had another door in the back that could possibly lead to a medicine room. There were cabinets almost anywhere one could be put. Next to the cabinets on the right wall, there was a biological waste container and a typical trashcan underneath. In the center of the light blue room, there was an examining table covered with white tissue-like paper. The witch went over to a box of gloves next to the sink and slipped them on. Chum Chum mostly expected her nails to tear the gloves.

"I have to examine you. Hop on the table so we can get this started." Chum Chum's self-concern became obvious to the witch. She let out a deep sigh and smiled. "Don't worry, kid! It'll be over before you know it."

The small boy reluctantly made his way to the examining table, not saying a word. She watched him hop up on to the stool and climb on to the table, tiny legs wiggling all the while. As the sidekick awaited any deadly experiments, the doctor pulled out a cart that had several medical tools on it. He eyed the pointed instruments of torture with fear.

"All I need to do is give you a regular check up, baby." She said in a quiet, calming voice. "Pretend this is like any normal time you'd visit a doctor."

Chum Chum gulped and slowly nodded his head. A storm of questions he wanted to ask her blew through his mind, but he couldn't get his mouth to open, either because he was too scared and confused or he felt as though in some way, there were questions he didn't want the answer to. The witch doctor grabbed a few tools from the cart and sterilized them. She turned to the boy on the table who looked incredibly stiff.

"Relax, Edmund." She cooed.

Almost immediately, he could feel his tense muscles become calm. The witch placed her hand over each part of his body. After she was done using a calming spell on him, Chum Chum finally spoke.

"Why are you being so kind to me?"

At first, she seemed shocked that he would ask such a thing, but then, she closed her eyes, and faced the floor. "I have no reason to treat you like the rest of those demons out there."

A tiny smile played at Chum Chum's lips before it quickly settled to it's original, fixed position. "Do you even agree with them?"

"If by them you mean those villains who want to rule the world, then no. I'm not here to cause death and destruction, babe. Take in a deep breath."

Chum Chum did as she said, watching her listen to his heartbeat. She picked up her clipboard and wrote something down.

"I only saw them once. It was after they used some gas or something on me, and threw me in the cell." Chum Chum announced to her. His voice hat a hint of hatred to it that vanished as he continued. "I don't know what they want from me. Why would they take me and so many other innocent people?"

The witch doctor looked into his eyes. "There are many evil people in all the galaxies far and wide who would hurt anyone and everyone. People like that can't see the difference between natural death and murder."

Those words only added to his fear, but he tried not to show it. "The big meanies kidnapped me after my best friend, my super hero leader, went to sleep. I've never been separated from him like that before. I don't even know where he is right now. He's probably going crazy without me around."

"I can see how close you two are. How long have you two known each other?" She asked as she reached for more equipment.

"Since we were in kindergarten. I kind of poked his eye out." Chum Chum chuckled at the memory. "We've lived together for a really long time!"

"Do you get into fights?"

"...A few times, but we always go back to be being friends right after." Chum Chum smiled.

"That's what true friendships do."

"Do you have any friends?" He asked, curious.

She paused for a minute and changed the subject, uneasy about the question. "You're from a place called Galaxy Hills."

"Yeah! The place is full of cool people. I'd hate to know what happened to it after Fanboy and I were split up."

"I have heard about the catastrophic events that happen when you two aren't together."

"What is this place, doctor witch lady?"

She jotted something down on her clipboard and placed it on the counter behind her. "This is a planet that Crates has taken over. That damned beast forced everyone who lives on it to work for him."

Chum Chum became silent, not sure of how to respond to her reply.

"You're check up is over, sweety!" She said, suddenly bubbly.

"Really?"

The entire time Chum Chum was talking to her, she did everything she needed to. It was one of the results of the calming spell.

"I'll call the Dutybots in here to bring you to the breakfast room."

Chum Chum would have jumped off the table, dropped to his knees in front of her, and begged for her not to call the robots in. He knew so little about the witch yet he would do anything to stay with her if she was going to be so nice to him. He decided to only shake his head, saying that he understood. The doctor picked up a device on the wall that resembled a telephone. She said a few things to whoever was on the other end and placed it back. In a matter of seconds, the three robots appeared at the door.

"Please, keep yourself safe when I'm not around. Don't do anything foolish. And above all, don't show fear and don't give in."

Chum Chum glanced at the witch as she whispered those words into his ear. He could feel his stomach drop for some reason he couldn't explain. As he was guided out by the Dutybots, he took one last look at the doctor. She was facing the wall with her palms rested on the counter. Her words echoed in his head. At that moment, he remembered the most important question he wanted to ask her. _Do you know where Fanboy is?_

While the robots brought him to what was called the _Eating Chamber_, Chum Chum didn't bother talking at all. _Don't do anything foolish._ He kept telling himself that. Though truly, he didn't know what the witch would consider fool-like behavior. He mostly hoped that keeping his mouth shut would keep him alive. There were no spoken of or obvious plans to kill him, but Chum Chum just wanted to be safe. _Please, keep yourself safe._

He took note of everything he walked past and how nearly everything was made from metal. He listened to the way his sneakers softly hit the metal flooring. They passed a few rooms that were banned to anyone who was not authorized. He wasn't completely familiar with such words, but he remembered the door in the back of the Frosty Mart that said something similar. Every time he or Fanboy tried going in it, Lenny would stop them and Boog would punish them harshly. To Chum Chum, that meant that every door that was heavily guarded meant there was life-saving information behind each and every one. He would have to make a useful mental note of this whenever he escaped.

"You've been awfully quiet, human." E-1034 finally said.

Chum Chum bit his lip and laughed nervously. "I guess there isn't much to talk about. Hehe."

The blue robot had a small screen that took the place of facial features such as eyes. The LED lights on the screen changed to form squinting, untrusting eyes. The robot turned back around, continuing to head forward.

"Maybe he's finally realized his place~" The yellow, so-far nameless, robot happily said.

E-2042 added his own opinion. "It could possibly be that he's _scared_."

_Don't show fear. _Chum Chum thought it would be best to say nothing.

Once they finally arrived at the Eating Chamber, Chum Chum gasped again. The next scene that was played out for his young eyes was one that he thought he'd only see in an actual prison, but then again wasn't that place a prison?

The room was even larger than the Holding Room. It was dome-shaped like it as well. There were many windows lining the curved wall that let in all the light. It was the only source of light the room had. Through the windows, he could see everything outside: the several aircraft carriers that looked like something he would only expect to see in a Sci-fi movie, extremely tall sand mountains, and in the center of the windows was a stone castle that was too far away to make any specific details. Chum Chum then noticed that he was being pushed along by the Dutybots. They maneuvered through the many tables where sidekicks sat; some eating their morning meals as though it was a normal, average day, while others barely touched theirs. The atmosphere in the Eating Chamber was smoky and shimmered with light. It seemed like the room was designed to make it feel a lot less like you were in jail. Everywhere he looked, everyone was wearing the same prison-like jumpsuits. He would have preferred his sidekick uniform. At least then, he would feel like he was somebody. Somebody different.

The robots sat him at one of the long tables. In front of him, there was a plate of mysterious looking food that seemed less edible than Lunch Lady Cram's cooking. He watched the robots leave him once again, only that time, he was surrounded by so many strangers.

"Ugh..." Chum Chum groaned and picked up a fork next to the plate.

"This place is awful." A girl next to him said aloud.

"You said it sista'. It's times like these I regret being so cruel to him." Another female replied.

"I wish my hero was here..." A small boy who was only slightly older than Chum Chum sighed.

"Stop all of your whining. We need to stand up for ourselves for once. We need to or else no one will!" A teenaged boy slammed his fists on the table.

"You said that as though no one is going to save us." The same blonde girl next to him glared at the boy.

"We're just a bunch of sidekicks..." The little boy was on the verge of crying.

The girl comforted him by wrapping her arms around his small, thin frame.

"This could finally be our chance to show that we're just as strong if not stronger than our leaders! You all just need to brighten up!"

A tear rolled down Chum Chum's reddened cheek. It fell onto the unEarthly food before him. A few more strolled down his cheeks and landed in the same spot.

"Hey, you must be pretty young."

Chum Chum jumped and turned to his side. The blonde girl who looked like she was only sixteen smiled at him. He glanced down at the boy who had his round face covered by her chest and looked back up at her.

"Yeah..." Chum Chum sniffed. "I'm ten."

"What's your name?" She asked.

"Chum Chum." He said with a hint of pride.

The teen giggled. "That's cute, but what's your real name?"

Chum Chum was shocked. Other heroes and sidekicks didn't normally ask for an actual name. It was understood by all that topics like that were forbidden unless it was an emergency, but something like that wasn't as bad when every sidekick was in the same room together and no one was wearing their uniforms.

"My real name is Edmund." He spoke in a voice that was just above a whisper.

"My name is Delilah. This is my little brother, Richard. That idiot you see over there who believes he's all that is our older brother, Eugene." Delilah spoke about their real names as though she wasn't a sidekick at all. It was as if she was an everyday average teen girl.

"Hey!" Eugene spat at her, a long fork-tongue appearing. "I heard that!"

"He has super sensitive hearing and can transform into a lizard. I have similar powers, but mine don't show as much. Richard on the other hand has _this_." Delilah reached behind her and showed Chum Chum that one of the young boy's arms were covered in scales.

Chum Chum compared the siblings to each other. Delilah had long, blonde hair that was tied into a messy ponytail while there was still hair hanging in front of her face. She had apricot skin that was dotted with freckles that made him think of Kyle. Her brothers had freckles too, but theirs were paler and harder to see. Eugene had black hair that was styled into a small Mohawk. The tips of it were red. He had decent muscles and many scars. His face was hard and darkened. Richard's hair was light brown and short. His bangs were brushed off to the side like Chum Chum's. He also had large, round ears. Delilah and Eugene had leaf-shaped ears.

"If you guys are sidekicks, then who's your leader?" Chum Chum asked her.

Her face turned pale and she played with her thumbs. "Our parents. We don't know what happened to them. We were kidnapped in the middle of the night while our parents slept."

Chum Chum's eyes widened. It sounded all too familiar to his story.

"Cowardly bastards. Only people like them would wait until everyone's backs were turned." Eugene angrily muttered under his breath.

Richard clutched his older sister tighter and softly wept.

"We were one big super hero family until _that_ night. We've been here for quite a long time." Delilah continued as tears stung her eyes.

_Quite a long time? _Chum Chum hadn't even been there for a full twenty-four hours, but Delilah made it sound as though she had been there for months or even years. The thought pained Chum Chum, but he tried to talk about something else.

"Where are you from?"

Delilah perked up. "Oh, we're from a little old town in Canada, and you?"

_Canada?_ She was from a completely different country. "I'm from Galaxy Hills. Its a small town in California, USA, but I'm actually from a place called Chulkistan."

Delilah raised a brow at him, clearly confused. "Wha- I've never heard of that place."

Before Chum Chum could get a chance to explain, the Dutybots marched in to pick up each of their prisoners. Delilah's and Richard's arms was grabbed by a large robot.

"I'll talk to you soon, okay _Chum Chum_?!" Delilah waved at him as she left. Richard only blinked at him.

"Yeah! Yeah! I'm comin', robot shit!" Eugene yelled at the robot who grabbed him.

"Well, our little prisoner has yet to eat~"

Chum Chum looked over his shoulder to see that the room was being cleared out, and his Dutybots were waiting for him.

"Don't you need your strength?" E-2042 asked.

"Its okay. I'm not really hungry." Chum Chum replied.

He was almost certain he didn't want food. Especially whatever garbage they had piled onto their plates. There were so many things he wanted but couldn't have. The yellow robot held out it's metal clamp to drag Chum Chum to the next place on their list. In the pit of his stomach, he could feel the urge to try and run, but once again he could hear the witch doctor's voice in his head.

_Don't do anything foolish._

~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~

I didn't have a name for this chapter until after I finished it. Naming chapters is so difficult at times _X


	9. A Little Bit Lost

~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~

Chapter 8: A Little Bit Lost

"... We need to get to the past! I have to tell him! I have to do something!… Before... it's too late. Only he... can stop Crates."

With no clear room for objection, the woman helped him up. She removed a button from a pocket in her cloak and tossed it forward. The button landed upside right, hitting the ground with a soft clink. The device emitted a dark portal-like oval. Together, they stepped into it. After they disappeared, the portal closed in on itself and was sucked back into the trigger.

What felt like no time at all, actually took many years... backwards of course. A new portal appeared just above the roof of a stand in Atlas's marketplace. It was concealed by the shadow of a large tree hanging over the fruit stand. From out of the portal, came the two cloaked adults. The woman pulled her hood back; face still hidden by the shadow. She turned to the man.

"What now?"

He cleared his throat, trying to recover from the affects of the gas. "We have to find him and make damn sure he doesn't see us. Got it?"

She nodded her head but swiftly turned the other way. "Isn't that them right over-? Well, actually it's only Kyle..."

"That must mean that _they're_ still inside. Fighting over the bathroom." The man coughed a few times.

"I still believe that you could have held it in for a little longer." She commented.

"Oh, shut up! That was twenty years ago!"

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kyle was waiting for the others outside the inn. He tapped his foot on the sandy ground impatiently.

The market was just preparing to open. Shop owners brought in new supplies and goods to sell to customers. Kyle watched a family of human beings, or at least that's what he would have liked to believe, across the dirt path open their tent. The two small children with strawberry blonde hair pushed back the drapery shrouding the shop. An older child with brown hair made sure that everything was orderly for business. The parents, a woman with short, curly, bright yellow hair, and a man with dark brown hair that was tied into a braid, unloaded their newest items from a crate. The most prominent thing they all shared in common were glowing, neon blue rings around their necks.

"Yo, Kyle~" Tobias greeted him with a yawn.

"Good morning, Kyle." Yo smiled.

The two same-aged children walked out of the inn, waving good-bye to the woman who kindly let them stay.

Kyle looked at them from the corner of his eye. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, Ky! I'm not used to waking up so early unless it's for school or whatever. Plus, Yo took _forever_ in the bathroom. I really needed to pee!" Tobias waved his arms in the air.

Kyle bit back a disgusted face. "There are only so many things I really need to know..."

"You're a boy! As far as I know, you guys pee differently from girls. You could have peed anywhere!" Yo shoved a finger in his face.

Kyle's tired eyes shot open at her words. "C-Can we please not dive into a conversation like that?!"

"Hold on! I have an important question." Tobias held his hand up in front of Kyle's face. "How would you even know something like that?"

Yo's expression told Tobias that she wasn't going to easily answer his question. Tobias's stiff, serious expression fell immediately when he came upon an assumption.

"I can't believe it!" He shouted. "You've watched Chum Chum and I in the privacy of the Fanlair! I've been spied on in my own dojo..."

"What?!" Yo covered her quickly reddening cheeks. "I-I-I-I can't believe you would think so lowly of me!"

"Ahem!"

Tobias and Yo stopped arguing and finally noticed Kyle who was ready for their argument to be over. He had his thin arms crossed over his chest, tapping his foot again. Yo stuck her tongue out at Tobias and walked forward, shaking her hips back and fourth. Tobias sent her glare as she walked away.

"When did you get the ability to walk?"

Kyle faced Tobias with a small smile. "I found it easier to walk down the stairs this morning on my own. My leg is healing surprisingly fast. I would have thought that I would have blood poisoning or something due to the rust from the anchor."

"See, Ky? It's just like what I said last night! Highly advanced equipment!"

"Would you quit calling me that name?! And I suppose you are correct. I did notice that the doctor had a small tube that looked like it was made for cleaning ears, but instead, he used it to clean out my wound. The blood he collected looked disgusting for some reason... Anyway, I didn't get much sleep last night."

Tobias giggled. "Wow, someone's in a talkative mood."

"Oh, be quiet you! I just thought since we were going on an _adventure_ I should try to make it less quiet is all. I wouldn't normally talk to you this much!"

"Okay~ Whatever you say~" Tobias began following Yo.

Ahead of them, Yo had stopped and was waiting for them to follow her. She had the map in her hands, screen projecting a large green arrow just as it was yesterday. When the boys caught up with her, Kyle taking longer as he limped his way to her side, she explained to them a few discoveries she had made over night.

"Not only does this little silver ball tell you where to go and give almost-directions, it has an entire full view map, but on the larger map, any location we haven't been to isn't labeled. There were quite a few places with no names. It was basically a lot of weird shaped land and dotted lines connecting them."

"Hmmm..." Tobias tried thinking about it.

"You mean it only labels places we've been to?" Kyle wasn't exactly asking her the question, being that he could answer it himself. "That seems a little unfair."

"Yeah! How can you just claim that you're giving someone a fair chance or equal opportunity when you don't even give them a useful map?" Tobias threw his hands into the air.

"Oh, this can also do more than a map." Yo continued. "It can even tell us what kind of species are on this planet. I even found a summary of Aradia... ya' know... that planet we're on now..."

"Wow, Yo. That's-" Kyle stared at her in awe.

"Incredible? No need to thank me. You can just properly appreciate me." Yo said with a bright smile that was meant to annoy Tobias.

It accomplished the goal. Kyle hadn't really thought that Yo would try to figure out as much as she could in one night just so the Asian girl could show off to the self-proclaimed super hero, but he began to ponder the possibility of it being true.

The trio noticed they were gradually making their way out of the marketplace. The shops were lessening, and the sand was mixing itself with grass and rich, brown dirt. The trees were even growing in number. Through the trees, they could see that the once orange sky was turning blue as the sun rose higher. Tobias eyed the colorful, oddly shaped plants growing out of the trees. He wanted to reach up and grab one, but Kyle could easily read him. He grasped his arm from behind Yo and gave it a light squeeze. Tobias jerked his arm back and rubbed the spot.

"The map says to keep going forward, but there's nothing but forest ahead of us." Yo paused.

"Have you thought that maybe, _just maybe_, we have to go through the forest?"

Yo stopped herself from replying. She held the map out in front of her and turned it left and right. "There are three different trails in front of of us. No matter which one I hold the map up to, it points in the same direction. Forward."

She showed them how the large green arrow pointed straight down each path.

"Maybe it's just broken." Tobias shrugged his shoulders.

"There are three trails that lead into the forest, there are three of us. How about we each take a different trail and see who gets lucky!" Just as Kyle was about to take a step to the left, Yo grabbed his shoulder.

"Hold on! You're not just gonna leave us!" She pulled him back and spun him around. "We'll have to carefully decide which path to take."

"And how do you suppose we settle this evenly?" Kyle asked her with a flat tone.

Tobias jumped in. "I know! I know! We can play roach, foot, atomic bomb!"

They both stared at the boy blankly, trying to process what he had just shouted out.

"What?! It's a game Chum chum and I played when we couldn't decide anything!"

"But there are _three_ people! It wouldn't work." Kyle glanced around the environment for something that would be suitable to their endeavors. He spotted bundles of broken branches scattered across the ground. "How about we see who can find the shortest branch. Then, that person decides the path we take."

"Pfffft. That sounds useless and like it'll get us nowhere. Kyle, are you even using your brain?" Tobias furrowed his brows.

"I could ask you the same thing on a daily basis... I'd hate to say this, but I actually agree with him." Yo pointed her thumb to a shocked but proud Tobias.

"Do either of you have any better suggestions?" Kyle was quick to ask.

"My idea was pretty good..." Tobias said under his breath.

With nothing else to say, they separated themselves and went to work at trying to find the tiniest branch.

Tobias stumbled upon an entire pile of small branches under a tree. They were nested together to form the shape of a dome with a small hole in the middle. Even though something was telling him not to take the dome apart, he bent down anyway and lifted a hand. Inside the dome, there was a small tan creature that had a fluffy chest and small round ears. It was curled into a ball, sleeping peacefully until it sensed a disturbance coming from outside it's home. Before Tobias could even lay a finger on the dome of sticks, the creature jumped out of it's dwelling. It growled at the young hero and leaped onto his sleeve. The tiny gopher-esque animal opened it's mouth, preparing to bite Tobias.

"Ahhhh!" Tobias tried shaking it off.

Yo was having even more difficulty finding a useable branch. Every time she reached out to grab one, it would be suddenly sucked into the ground, leaving no trace or clue of what might have taken it. Once she had officially become annoyed, Yo got on her knees on the ground and observed it carefully. Nothing was visible to her eye until something began breaking through the layers of dirt. She looked at it cautiously, waiting for it to be fully revealed. The head of a bright green and orange snake with yellow spots made eye contact with Yo. She stared ate it wide-eyed. The snake made a high-pitched noise and stuck out it's curled tongue. Yo watched it jump out of the ground. She gasped when she noticed it's legs that were covered by red, rain boots. The snake trotted over to a new location and jumped into the ground.

"What just happened...?" Yo blinked multiple times.

Kyle had climbed into a tree to break off a branch. He wasn't that high off the ground but he still clung to the tree, shaking slightly. _As long as they don't see me doing this, it should be just fine. _Kyle spotted a thin branch that was nearby. He spread an arm out to grab it but wasn't close enough. The wizard looked down at the ground shortly before standing up. He tried balancing himself on the branch he had been sitting on and slowly reached out his hand. His fingertips swept over the thin wood several times.

"Almost there... Come to meeee... Aha!"

Kyle's victory was short-lived though. A large black bird with incredible wings soared downwards, landing very close to him. It eyed him suspiciously.

"Hm? Oh, go away! Shoo!" Kyle waved his hand at the animal, not realizing that the bird had claimed the tree as it's own.

The bird spread out it's wings and began flapping them violently while screeching. Kyle lost his footing on the branch and tumbled to the ground. His healing leg hit a thick tree root, causing him to yell out in pain. At the sound of it, Yo and Tobias came running to him.

"Are you alright?!" Tobias asked him frantically.

Kyle got up, trembling. He dusted himself off and pretended as though he was alright. "I'm just peachy..." He said through clenched teeth.

"Oh! For a second there I thought you reopened your leg and was bleeding everywhere. That's good!"

There was no time for Kyle to say anything. A flat yet heavy object had descended on to his head. It fell to the ground; followed by a muffled groan.

Kyle rubbed the top of his head. "What just hit me?! Can I ever get a break?!"

"Hey, Kyle!" Tobias wrapped an arm around the slightly older boy and pointed to the item that had just landed on him. "It's your weird talking book and elf dude."

"Necronomicon? Scrivener Elf?" Kyle turned his head to the side like a confused puppy.

Yo had only seen a few glimpses of the book before, and she had rarely seen Scrivener Elf. She felt foolish for believing that at one point, the elf was really a kid wearing a Halloween costume.

The Book of the Dead and the wizard's elf assistant presented themselves to their master in a respectful manner. Scrivener Elf rotated his limbs and shook his head to wake himself up. Necronomicon merely hovered in midair, waiting for Kyle to collect his thoughts.

"What are you two doing here? _How_ did you two get here?"

Necronomicon went first. "As I was told by your parents, I am to keep an eye on you and know where you are at all times. I'm aware of the fact that doesn't answer your second question. I am simply following orders."

Scrivener Elf lazily followed up. "Eh, I just hitched a ride on the book. It's great to know that you remembered us. Plus, that griffin of yours totally ignored us! I don't even know where that rotten lion-bird is now."

"Traveling would be a lot easier if we had your griffin, Kyle." Yo spoke up.

"Who needs a flying lion when you can walk!" Tobias broke into the conversation. "Walking is great exercise and puts hair on a man's chest."

"I bet you five dollars he heard that from Oz." Yo whispered to Kyle.

Kyle lightly pushed her aside and limped forward. The more he thought about it, it would have been much easier if he had his griffin. He looked over his shoulder at the amount of walking they'd have to do. The forest was large and shrouded by trees that blocked most of his view. He felt that beyond them, there was even more distance that would need to be covered by the group. He sighed.

"Where was the last place you saw him?" The preteen asked the two.

"We were going over some ocean when he flew right past us. He looked like he was going to the same place though. It took us nearly two days to find ya'..." Scrivener Elf added the last statement in a quiet yet annoyed voice.

"That must mean he's very close by. I could try to call him to us." Kyle grabbed a hold of one of his most used spell books. He flipped through Necronomicon until he stumbled upon griffin related spells. "Perhaps-"

"Eh?"

Tobias listened closely. He could hear the sound of an eagle coming from an predictable distance away. The cries of the animal sounded as though it were in pain and possibly trouble.

"Kyle! I can hear your griffin coming from this way! C'mon!"

As expected, Tobias was the first to charge headfirst down a path. It was the one that lead to the right. He didn't look back to see if they were running after him.

"Darn him and his adventuring spirit!" Kyle exclaimed.

"Heh." Scrivener Elf snorted. "Whoa! What happened to your leg?"

Kyle raised up his leg. "Don't worry about that right now!"

Yo held her hand out to Kyle. "I know you can't run well, so I'll help you."

"I don't need anyone's- Hey! Stop this!"

Yo had Kyle's hand in her own as she helped him do his best to run. She lead him on to the path Tobias was on, and Necronomicon and Scrivener Elf exchanged glances before they decided they should follow the three children.

On the path that was to the right, it was nearly completely dark and would have almost felt like night if it weren't for the small rays of sunlight pouring through the spaces in the trees that created a canopy over the trail. Animals of many kinds went from tree to tree startling Yo at times. She narrowed her eyes to try to see Tobias, but he was bound to be too far ahead of them.

There was more than just animals above them, there was also a small group of people jumping along the trees.

Thunderella, Copy Kitten, Edward, and Blair were following the heroes. Copy Kitten gracefully made her way across the trail like a gymnast. Thunderella hopped from tree, appearing in different places like a purple clad ninja. Edward on the other hand clumsily leaped his way onto a new branch, slipping off a few. Blair's heavy body was surprisingly held up by the strong branches.

"We would have been here sooner if a certain _cat woman_ wasn't afraid of water." Edward said aloud.

Copy Kitten sent him a glare. "I can't help it!"

"How do you take a bath then?" Edward asked her from behind. "Tongue baths I assume~?"

Copy Kitten swung out her heeled foot and kicked the boy in the face. "You know I hate cat related jokes!"

Edward stopped to rub his lightly bleeding nose. Blair jumped on to the branch that Edward was on.

"Hi, Ed~!" He said in his usual happy and dumb tone.

Edward felt the branch bend under his weight. After he jumped off the branch, still attached to the tree, sprung up and down. Edward held on tight to it, yelling into his coat sleeve at the large man.

Ahead of all of them, Thunderella was just behind Tobias who had no idea that he was being followed. She could have struck him at that moment, but she detested the idea of attacking an enemy when their back was turned. She carefully waited for the right moment to strike, hoping that her fellow villains would do the same.

"I could swear I heard it from here." Tobias was beginning to become unsure of where he heard the noise exactly. He gasped when he heard it much louder than before. "There it goes again! I must be getting closer! Man, I'm so smart for choosing the right path!"

Tobias continued running until there were very little trees left. The path curved to the left. It lead into a field that had a few huts and worn down grass.

"This must be a village. I've seen one like this in movies." He said to himself.

"I've never done so much bloody running before!" Kyle panted.

Yo nudged him. "At least you're not running by yourself."

"Don't try to cheer him up! That kid is physically weak!" Scrivener Elf called to Yo.

"I am most certainly not!"

Yo skidded to a stop when she heard a branch snap. She looked all around her for the source. In a tree to the left of them, the leaves rustled. Kyle followed her eyes in the direction she was looking.

"Whatever happened to making sure they don't see us?!" The cloaked woman bitterly asked the man.

He covered her mouth with one of his fingerless-gloved hands. "Shhhhh!"

He waited until they began running again to speak. "They can't see us anyway! We have to keep following them. Oh, and don't don't break anymore branches!"

The woman yanked a leaf covered branch off and snapped it in half. She tossed each half over his head.

"Okay, you don't have to be like that." He shook his head at her.

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Tobias had taken a few steps into the village. At first, he could see no signs of anyone that actually lived there, but while he observed each wooden hut, there was smoke coming out of one of them. Smoke normally meant that there was a fire. And where there was a fire, there had to be someone who made it. _Basic signs of civilization_. Tobias smirked.

"Hellooooo?" His voice echoed. "Anyone home?"

There were no replies. He was about to head back until he felt the ground shake. Tobias turned back around to see Kyle's griffin bounding forward, a large metal chain around it's neck. The hero fell to to the ground on his back.

"Slow down! Easy now! No wait!" He shut his eyes tight as the griffin made it's way over him.

He cracked open one eye and then the other. The griffin was no where in sight. He hadn't the slightest idea of what could have caused it to run away like that.

"That was odd..."

"Yes it most definitely was..."

~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~

This chapter feels boring and short. It was originally going to be much longer.

Anyway, the next chapter will be _To the White Castle Walls_, and the next one will be _Children of __Prophecy_. I'm pretty sure the names can just give away certain information.


	10. To the White Castle Walls

So, I might be spending all day retyping this. Hopefully it'll be worth it in the end. This whole chapter had no flow and everything was just one big disappointment. I _was_ going to just post it like it was and update when I could, but I decided not to. Anyway, that's enough of complaining.

~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~

Chapter 9: To the White Castle Walls

Standing behind Tobias, was a woman with milky, white skin. She had long, deep red hair that curled at the ends and was parted down the middle. There were two horns that came to a dull point that were hard to notice. Next to her horns, she had cow-like ears. Her small, round nose was a rosy pink like her lips. She had on a dark green dress and lighter green hooded robes. Sticking out of her form-fitting dress was a cow's tail. She only had two fingers and a thumb on each hand. There were black spots all over her skin except for her face and hands. Tobias, still on the ground, had a worm's eye view of the woman. He rolled over onto his stomach to get a better look at her.

"What are you supposed to be? A cow?"

She reached out an arm to help him off the ground with a giggle. "No. That is close though. I guess I do have characteristics that align with that of a cow you humans are used to."

_There goes that human thing again. _Tobias grabbed her hand and hoisted himself up. "Are you sure? Because you sure do look like one!"

The woman giggled again. "I am positive."

"Then... uhhh... what are you?"

"Cowple." She smiled.

"Wha-"

"There you are, idiot!" Kyle panted.

The cow-esque woman leaned to the right to see who had just yelled that. Tobias turned around to happily greet Yo and Kyle who were standing only a few feet away from them. Yo was still supporting Kyle until the redhead slapped her hand away.

"What have you two been doing?" Tobias asked them with a faint smile and laugh. "You two must be awfully slow! ...Or maybe I have a new super power that lets me run super fast."

Yo clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Yeah right. Keep dreaming..."

"Umm... I don't mean to interrupt, but I don't really know who any of you are."

Kyle looked over Tobias's shoulder. His eyes widened at the sight of her as she waved shyly at them. Yo leaned forward to whisper something in the hero-to-be's ear.

"Is she a cow?"

Tobias laughed. "No! She's a cowple."

Yo and Kyle exchanged confused glances.

"My name is Helga." She informed them before swiftly turning around to face her village to yell something in a language the children had never heard. Helga turned back to them, gesturing her hands for them to follow her. "It's alright. I told everyone that you're harmless."

Even though Kyle wanted to ask her what she meant by such a statement, Helga had already started heading back to the village with Yo and Tobias close behind. Kyle glanced at his elf and powerful spell book as if he were silently asking for their opinions.

"Don't look at me, kid! I just got here." Scrivener Elf replied.

"Everything looks trustworthy here." Necronomicon smiled.

Kyle turned back to village and carefully walked forward. "I hope you're right."

"So what is this place?" Tobias asked.

Yo opened the map. She stopped for a second to place it on the ground. "Wait!" At the sound of the command, Helga and Tobias paused. "I need to look at the map." Yo explained to them.

The dark-haired girl gently pressed the tip of her finger on the side of the silver ball. The hologram projected by the ball became larger and showed a rough landscape like design of an area. The hologram showed detailed views of mountains and sea levels. There was a dotted line that started somewhere off the map's view in the bottom left corner and continued on towards the top left. It stopped at a location marked by a small blinking dot. The dot increased in size and floated upwards, revealing the location. Kyle narrowed his eyes at what appeared to be a smaller scale model of the village they were in. Only taking a second, the words **Herd Village** appeared in a plain text.

Helga watched the scene from behind Yo. "What is that?"

"Oh, that? That's just a super cool map we got from some guy who stole my friend." Tobias responded.

Helga's expression seemed to say that she was trying to process what she had just heard. "I'm sorry to hear that, but why did he give you a map?"

"It's probably just the beginning of some confusing _adventure_." Scrivener Elf commented.

"We'll make sense of why that horned guy took Chum Chum!" Yo exclaimed with a clear amount of determination. "He's probably so alone and scared right now..."

"Possibly..." Kyle muttered under his breath.

"What do you mean by horned guy?" Helga raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we don't really know him, or why he took my friend." The youngest of the two boys told her.

"_HELGA_!"

The redheaded woman jumped as someone screeched out her name.

"Get away from those rotten humans!"

In no time at all, a slightly shorter male who resembled Helga appeared at her side. He had a sword drawn and was far from being afraid of using it on the children. Yo quickly snatched the map of the ground, holding it protectively in her hands. Kyle backed up; Scrivener Elf and Necronomicon squeezed themselves against their owner. The dark-haired male in red robes had his sword aimed at Tobias.

"Hersa, please! They have done nothing wrong!" Helga pleaded. "You must stop this nonsense, brother."

The other, who's name was apparently Hersa, ignored his sister's begging. He continued to glare at Tobias through his short, black hair.

"You know what these foul beasts are like!" Hersa rolled his eyes. "And yet... you let _three_ of them into our village."

"Now, you stop!"

The third voice caught everyone's attention. The source of it was standing above them on the porch of a large hut with a painted on red plus sign. Tobias sheepishly lowered the sword at his chest and looked around. There were several other cowples walking about, staring at the scene before them.

"Tesea..." Hersa mumbled as though there was something he couldn't believe. "How dare you betray us by siding with my sister!"

"Cool down, Hersa." Tersea brushed a few strands of short, maroon hair out of her face. "They are mere children. What could they possibly do? Steal your crackers?"

At that, Tobias and a few other cowples began laughing. Hersa put his sword away, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

"She's got a point there, Hersa~"

Stepping out of the shadows of the porch was another male cowple with long, shaggy black hair that was tied in a ponytail. His horns were somewhat larger than the others, and there were black spots around his eyes that made them resemble the kind of circles that formed under tired eyes. His voice was deep and scratchy. He was dressed in purple and gray robes.

"Go away, Gerald!" Hersa yelled at him only to receive an apathetic grunt as a response. "I mean it! Don't you dare come down here! Gerald!"

Gerald descended down the steps in a daring manner. He smirked at Hersa all the while.

"Who are our visitors~?" Gerald questioned Helga.

"Oh, they're- Wait! How silly of me! I've yet to ask your names even though I told you mine!" Helga giggled again.

"The name's Fan-" Tobias coughed. "Tobias!"

"My name is Kyle, pleasure to meet you." The mage gestured to the two hiding behind his back. "And this is Necronomicon and-"

"I can say my own title." Scrivener Elf cleared his throat. "... Scrivener Elf."

"And my name is Yo~!"

"Those are some really nice names, ya' got there." Gerald said kindly, leaning down to their height.

From behind him, Hersa scoffed. "Don't go try to make friends with them!"

Gerald stood up. "You don't have to be jealous, Hersy~"

Hersa's face paled; if such a thing was even possible. "... Don't call me that."

"I'll talk to you three later." Gerald waved at them. "Right now, I need to go deal with a pouty Hersy~"

Hersa's limp, seemingly bitten into ears perked up as his eyes shot open. "Stay away from me!" He exclaimed as he darted off.

"_Anyway_, is there anything I can help you with that may better your journey?" Helga clasped her hands together. "Kyle, I do believe you're in desperate need of medical assistance."

Kyle looked up at her, absentmindedly scratching his stitches. "What do you- Queen Mother! How did that happen?!"

The Brit's wounded and once thought to be healing leg had worsened. The stitches had taken on an unhealthy color just as his skin did. There were greenish welts filled with puss. His skin had become a black-blue, suggesting that he had even bruised it.

"Dude, that's so gross!" Tobias poked at it.

"Hey! Don't touch it!"

"What if you pop it, and it explodes like a volcano?" Yo cringed at her own thoughts.

"I'll get Tersea to look at it for you. Up here." Helga held Kyle's hand in her own, walking up the staircase to the medical hut. Necronomicon and Scrivener Elf followed.

"What are we supposed to do?" Tobias turned to Yo.

"I don't know about you, but _I'm_ going to see what they have in those cute little shops~" Yo turned away from him and began walking towards one of said shops.

"But we don't even have any money!" Tobias shouted after her, but she was too far away.

Yo scaled alongside the tented shops with her hands laced behind her back with the map in between, humming as she glanced at the unreadable signs that were perched just above each stand. Cowples carrying wheelbarrows of what Yo assumed to fruits and vegetables rushed past her in a hurry. Cowple children played tag and hide-and-go-seek while their parents maned a shop. Small herds of chicken-like animals were escorted through the open market by farmers.

Yo stopped at a wooden stand covered in handmade bags and jewelry. The woman at the shop was wearing a green dress lined with golden edges. She had long green sleeves that were not connected to the dress covering her forearms. Her hair was silver and waist length, curling inwards at the ends. Her bangs were separated off to the sides and curled in the opposite direction. Yo noticed that her hands were running over her small stomach in a soothing manner.

"Yes, dear?" She said in a soft voice.

There was nothing she really needed, but she'd hate to have gotten the attention of a kind woman for no reason. Upon realizing she had nothing of monetary value, Yo clutched the silver ball in her hands a little tighter, feeling her palms become a bit sweaty.

"I would like one of these bags!" Yo pointed to a small, brown and pink, floral print bag that had a leather shoulder strap.

The woman followed the direction of Yo's finger, seeing that she was directing her to a bag hidden in a stack of larger ones. As she reached for it, Yo wondered how she could possibly manage to pay for it.

"Is it this one?" She showed her the bag and received a nod as an answer. "No one has ever cared for this one before. I've had it for years. It's one of the first bags I ever made. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that I was emotionally attached to it."

She smiled and chuckled while dusting off the item as though there were some unseen amount of dust on it. Yo wrung her hands and bit into her lip. She had the thought of running off with the bag and shoving the map inside it before anyone could catch her.

"Excuse me?"

"Hm?"

Standing beside Yo was Gerald holding out a handful of coins. The woman and Gerald exchanged a few words in a different language. She laughed a little and excepted the money, putting it away inside of a jar that was halfway full. She reached over her cluttered counter and handed Yo the bag. The eleven-year-old took it with a questioning look.

"It's alright. Your friend payed for you." She smiled and waved as Gerald scooted her away from the stand.

"How did you-" Yo was stopped.

"Your little friend over there with the flat head told me you would need some money." Gerald replied with a wink.

Yo let it sink in for a second before putting the map away and slinging the strap over her shoulder.

In the medical hut, Tersea tended to Kyle's wound. She instructed him to lay down on a faded green mat in the middle of the floor. He looked over his shoulder to see that there was an opening which led to another room with hospital beds. Tersea was quick to bring his attention back to her.

"How are you supposed to be my _doctor_ if I can't even pay you?" He asked her as he stared at the ceiling.

"That's no problem." Tersea grinned. "I don't make people pay for true emergencies. If it's a simple cut or scratch that needs medical supplies then my patients only pay for that."

Kyle was surprised to hear that. If he had been on Earth, he would have to find someway to couch up a good amount only to get his stitches removed, and his wound cleaned. He wouldn't even be lying on her floor with his arms crossed impatiently over his stomach if Tobias wouldn't have found it necessary to nearly get into a battle with an oversized jellyfish. Her kindness to those in need did strike a chord in the wizard child, but he tried showing no hints of it.

"I just don't understand how it became like this so quickly." Kyle gulped, trying to stay focused on the ceiling. "I only got this just one day ago."

Tersea reached under a nightstand, pulling out a rather large book, clearly affected by the test of time. She flipped through it, gliding her finger down every other page in search of a spell. "It doesn't really shock me. How did this happen to you?"

"Yeah. How did you royally screw up your leg?" Scrivener Elf asked from a windowsill with mild curiosity.

Kyle rolled his eyes and sighed. "Its a rather stupid story that has absolutely nothing to with my own fault."

Necronomicon watched as Tersea settled with a page, adjusted her legs which were folded under her and held out her hands towards to Kyle's leg. She took in a single deep breath, and her hands lit up with a neon blue flame. Kyle jerked up at the sight.

"You can... too?" The other words were lost as he mumbled them. "I've never seen that before."

"Well, I figured not. I saw your Necronomicon and knew you could use mmhmmhmmhm, too." Tersea mocked him. "Mine is saved exclusively for healing purposes though. I suppose you can raise the dead."

"What's so wrong with necromancy?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, nothing. Just the though of a child such as yourself getting the idea to raise a zombie army doesn't sound very good to me."

"What?! I would never-!"

Tersea cleared her throat. "This may sting at first."

"What may- AH!" Kyle clenched his teeth as Tersea placed her hands against his skin.

Her hands were completely covering the stitches, heating them with the possible thought of melting them. Necronomicon and Scrivener Elf cringed at his sudden yelp.

"Are there other ways to do this?" Kyle asked while biting his lip.

"The pain will go away as I move onto the next step." Tersea replied calmly.

"I can't believe I'm letting a random stranger do this to me."

"I can't believe I'm letting a random stranger be my patient." Tersea said jokingly.

Tobias had climbed up the stairs leading to the medical hut after a fruitless interrogation of the cowples of Herd Village. He couldn't believe that no one knew about the creature that took his best friend and gave him a highly advanced map to aid his journey. It made no sense to him. His response would either be a "Get lost, kid!" or "Who? What?" A few of the cowples would even shutter, began sweating, and became unusually quiet. The more he thought about his Chum Chum, the sadder he felt. Tobias walked up to the fence around the porch and rested his folded arms and chin on it. He stared down at the cowples walking under him, carrying on as though there wasn't a care in the world. That's how he wanted to feel...

"You never told me about the reason you were here." Helga said, standing on the steps.

Tobias snapped out of his short-term depressed state. "Yeah! I said my friend was kidnapped by this evil guy with huge horns."

"Oh, what I meant to say was that you didn't give me many details."

Tobias's usual smile fell. Helga quickly acted upon noticing this. "Now, I know I'm a stranger, but I would really like it if you trusted me to tell me about what happened."

Helga reached out for the young boy's hands, holding them in her own. Just as Tobias was about to tell her everything that had happened to him in such a limited amount of time, Gerald and Yo came marching up the stairs.

"I bought her a little purse to put that weird thing in." Gerald's half lidded eyes moved down to see that the two were holding hands. "Oh. I'm not interruptin' nothin' am I?"

Helga slowly removed her hands from Tobias's. "Umm... No. We're just waiting for Tersea to finish up with Kyle."

Tobias walked away from Helga, approaching Yo with heavy footsteps. "I guess that means you're the official map holder?"

"Well, I would think after I've been the one holding it so far and even figured out how to further use it to our good that I deserve that title."

From Yo's bag, a blinking light could be seen under the shade of the porch. She lifted the pink floral print flap that was outlined with thin yellow fabric. Yo pulled out their one useful item and observed it. The center of the ball was emitting a light that blinked eagerly the longer she held it. Without touching it in any special way, the four little legs popped out of the bottom and the top slid open. A projection of a grid with an arrow pointing in the Eastern direction appeared.

"I guess we have to go there next." Yo scratched the top of her head, confused.

"It's pointing to the East. That means it's pointing to Queen Victorique's castle." Helga said in a hushed voice. "Why would you have to go there...?"

"I don't know." Tobias shrugged. "Maybe royalty wants to see us~"

"I doubt it." Yo scoffed.

"The Queenie's castle?" Gerald held his hands against his face, slightly squishing his cheeks. "The same castle that's surrounded by guards and a white wall?"

"Yes." Helga nodded.

"White wall?" Yo leaned forward.

"Guards?" Tobias did the same. "That means I get to try out my new karate skills!"

"No way!" Yo pinched his arm.

Helga bent down. "That castle is protected by the finest swordsman and women who kill almost anyone on sight. It's the heart of Atlas. The area is surrounded by an unspeakably tall white wall that cannot be broken through. I don't know why you would need to go there."

"Why would a queen want us?" Yo looked down at the metal ball.

"Why not?" Tobias smirked. "Remember? We're supposed to be prophecies 'member?"

_Prophecies?! _Helga narrowed her eyes suspiciously at them.

"Oh yeah. Do you really think a queen would care to see us?"

Tersea opened the door to her hut. "Here he is. I must ask that you don't let him do too much."

Tobias turned to face Kyle with a bright smile. "You're lucky, Kyle! I wish I had a medical reason to be lazy!"

"You baffoon!" Kyle swatted Necronomicon at him. "I will not be lazy! I will just move a little less..."

"It's a good thing you're weak and can't do any heavy lifting." Yo commented.

"I am not weak!"

"I thank you very much for helping them, Tersea." Helga bowed.

Tersea did the same. "It would be best if you moved quickly with your journey. The one you mentioned to me in there."

"She's right." Gerald agreed. "Make it to the castle quick. Maybe the guards went on break."

After a few shared good byes from the three cowples to the three children, Hersa returned. He didn't care to say anything to them, preferring to say comments like "Good riddens!" and "Don't come back!" Hersa crossed his arms over his chest and turned his nose to the air, watching them leave from the corner of a barely open eye. The farther they went away, the softer Hersa's expression become.

The kids were on a path that started in the back of Herd Village and continued on through the forest. Tobias had been rambling on about a subject neither of the other two cared about. Kyle only threw in a few of his trademark jokes that only got a laugh out of him and occasionally Scrivener Elf. Yo stood in front, following the yellow dirt path.

"Did you hear that?" Yo stopped.

Kyle listened closely. "Hear what? Oh no! It's the sound of a bird about to swoop down it's prey!"

Kyle had heard the sound of a griffin,be it wild or domesticated, often. The only thing that normally accompanied the screeching was pain due to it's talons.

Tobias pointed upwards. "No, look! It's your flying lion!"

The mythical beast landed in front of his owner, lowering it's wings and neck.

"Oh! Now you come to save us!" Scrivener Elf shouted.

Necronomicon sighed.

"What's this around it's neck?" Kyle poked at the metal chain.

"I forgot to tell you I saw your griffin when I met Helga!"

Kyle made an unimpressed facial expression. He tightened his grip on the chain and whispered a few words. After saying those words, the chain snapped and fell to the ground with a heavy clang. The griffin slowly picked it's head back up and shook it, relieved to have the chain removed.

"I wonder who would put that there..." Kyle said to himself as he ran a thumb over the smooth, cold metal.

"Maybe someone else found your griffin before we did?" Tobias shrugged with a hopeful smile.

Kyle's lips formed a straight line. "I would have _never_ thought of that without your help."

"Always here to help, Ky~"

"We should get on your griffin so we can get to the castle faster." Yo spoke up.

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Thunderella watched the beast take off after being mounted by the children, book, and elf. She turned to her fellow villains with a scowl, white, blank eyes burning with electric rage.

Edward carefully climbed down from the tree, swinging his foot around to search for a place to land. "Why are you looking at _us_ like that?! It's not our fault that stupid bird thing came to save them! Why were you waiting so long to attack anyway?!"

Thunderella yanked Edward's foot down. The rich child fell face first into the tree roots with a thud. He stood up, wobbling slightly.

"The kid's got a point." Copy Kitten yawned and stretched out her back.

Thunderella turned to Blair. Her head moved in such a quick motion that it startled the large man. Blair pulled at his spiked bracelets and tugged at the hem of his black tank top.

"I dunno!" Blair shouted in frustration.

"Be careful there, electricity girl." Edward said, picking grass and bark out of his dark hair. "You might make him do something he's never done before. Using his brain."

"As if you ever do..." Copy Kitten scoffed. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what? We don't have your super animal hearing skills." Edward adjusted his top hat.

"There was something moving in those bushes."

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The griffon came to a stop only a short walk away from the white castle walls. Tobias tried walking backwards as far as possible just to get a glimpse at what was on the other side. The thick, white barrier was far too tall to get even the smallest peek at perhaps a castle or something of that nature.

"Hey, wait a minute." Scrivener Elf approached Tobias. "Are you that purple kid?"

"Did you seriously just now notice that?" Kyle smacked the palm of his hand against his face.

"Guys!" Yo exclaimed.

Guards dressed in golden and silver armor poured out of the surrounding vegetation and quickly encircled the five. Each one had what appeared to be a horn protruding from their foreheads that stuck out of their helmets. They all had weapons aimed at them.

"What business do you have at the Queen's castle?!"

"Get lost or we will not hesitate to end you, pathetic humans!"

~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~o0o~

I'm not only worried about the speed of the story, but I'm also worried about the in-character aspects, too.

On a side note, this is the longest chapter with eleven pages. I cut out a huge part where they actually meet a few of the villains following them. Also, the chapter doesn't have anything to do with the title until like the end of it because I failed ;-;... Oh! I almost forgot to say that I might post an _Extra Chapter_ about Chum Chum.


End file.
